‘A calm in the center of the storm’

WASHINGTON - A Christian Outreach Center has been established in Washington with a goal of providing a warm place to stay for anyone in need.

Known to locals as the 180 Youth Center, the 9,000 square foot building located at 604 South Iowa Avenue in Washington has been partially rented out to become the Christian Community Outreach Center under director Darren Brown, who has a goal of providing hope, safety and understanding to those who need it most.

'I have been a person who has been down and out in my life. About 20 years ago I gave my heart to Christ and that changed me,” he said, explaining that after years of struggling with drugs, alcohol and being in and out of prison, he decided to seek out God. 'In the last 20 years God has given me a lot. I have a good family, children, a wife and my life is really good. Since I gave my heart to Christ, I have had a passion for ministry and a passion for helping people.”

Brown said he has traveled the United States sharing his story and spent two years in Pennsylvania building a ministry. Four years ago the family moved back to the Wayland area to help take care of Brown's in-laws who were in failing health.

He said he began praying and asked God to direct him toward ministry of some kind. A short while later, he was informed there was a group in town that was meeting monthly to discuss the homeless situation in town and how to help.

After going to the meeting, he said community members were beginning to form a plan and identified some funds to get a possible shelter started, but needed someone to be the spokesperson for the project.

'I drive back and forth from here to Wayland a lot. I kept looking at that building and thinking, ‘That building is empty and it needs to be used. God, is that what you want from us?'”

Brown was able to get in touch with the owners of the building and upon sharing his passion and vision, he was able to procure a large portion of the building. Brown said the space is not only a shelter but an outreach center where they will provide food, clothing and a place to sleep for those in need.

'I don't have a name for it yet because we want the community to name it. We want the community to own it. We want all the people involved, all the churches involved. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. There's already some good organizations in town that are doing some services, so what we want to do is get together with everybody whose already providing services and provide those that maybe aren't being provided,” he said. 'Our motivation and desire is to share the gospel with people and we understand that you have to build a relationship with people in order to share the gospel message.”

Brown said people will be able to get food and clothing as they need if they bring a referral from a local church. He said this is because he wants the local churches to be involved in the process. A long-term goal he is working on is bringing in counseling for financial, spiritual and emotional needs.

Brown said for those who need to stay, the center will be open to men, women and women with children. Currently, the center has 20 beds, a crib and is in need of a toddler bed. The rooms are portioned to create private spaces for each gender. Staff have been hired to stay during the night, but volunteers are greatly needed also.

'We'll do everything we can to equip them, but in all reality it's simple. It's about being there and being involved and building relationships with people,” he said.

He said any civic, church or social groups willing to bring a meal and socialize are needed mostly from 4-10 p.m. Brown said the start up funds for the project were provided by On His Path Ministries in Wayland and a grant from Casey's General Store has helped s well. He still is actively applying for grants to continue to fund the center but in the mean time, it could use donations of food, a washing machine and gas dryer, refrigerator, freezer, and computers, but volunteer time is needed the most.

'People need a safe place to regroup sometimes and get their thoughts together,” he said. 'If you can stop and regroup and get your focus and build a plan, then it's easier to succeed. You can't stop the storm in somebody's life but you can provide a calm in the center of the storm. That's our hope is to instill hope in other people. If we as a community don't help one another, people become hopeless. You have to have some sort of hope to move forward.”

Boy Scout Troop 242 and Cub Scout Pack 242 in Washington will be collecting bags of food to be donated to the schools in district and the Christian Community Outreach Center. Red bags will be distributed on Saturday, Nov. 2 and collected for pickup on Saturday, Nov. 9. Bags with food can be placed outside the residence and will be picked up by 9 a.m. Kathy Fields, is heading up the food drive and encourages people to check the dates on food before setting it out for pickup. If bags are not collected by 12 p.m. on Saturday, Fields said someone can be sent out to collect the donation if she is notified at: 319-461-3016.

The Christian Outreach Center, located at 604 South Iowa Avenue, will be hosting an open house for the public on Friday, Nov. 1 from 4-8 p.m. Staff will be available to answer questions and give tours of the new space. Anyone who needs services is encouraged to call the center at 319-653-5871.