The last two years have been busy for Foundation House Ministries, according to director Suzanne Burns. The nonprofit provides financial, emotional and physical support to mothers or pregnant women who struggle with addiction, homelessness and joblessness.  On April 23, Foundation House will have a Corporate Luncheon to share with supporters what has been accomplish and what needs to be done to support women in crisis. The luncheon will be from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at the Old Woolen Mill, 445 Church St. Keynote speaker for the catered lunch will be Burns, who plans to share her own story of being a single mom going through a crisis. “This is the first opportunity we have had to share since 2019,” Burns said. “It has been a whirlwind couple of years. COVID tripled us — we didn’t shut down. We couldn’t. We are a 24/7 housing ministry. “Our girls were essential workers. They worked through it all, and the Lord provided,” she said. “I was the only one in the whole organization who had COVID-19,” she explained. “No client, no baby or no staff” became ill. “We’ve added 10 acres and two houses. We’ve increased by the two shops downstairs (Healing Springs and the Thrift Shop). We’ve had a lot of babies born and moms go through the program. We’ve had families reunited,” she said. “The Lord has been moving in leaps and bounds. We already serve a 150-mile radius; however, there were a lot of women falling through the cracks. We have the housing for them, but many don’t know we exist,” she said. Foundation House Ministries is looking at expanding into counties where the now serve with additional staff. Burns said they are considering a satellite site in Chattanooga “to better serve those areas with case management and day programs.” For women who need housing, the ministry has it in Bradley County. To meet future needs, Burns said they have 10 acres with room to have about 150 transitional housing apartments (two-bedroom units). However, because the land is located a mile outside from Cleveland Utilities sewer connections. An obstacle is a rule requiring annexation to be hooked to the system, she said. The ministry is looking to see “how the community wants to partner with us,” Burns explained. “We have room for sewer and septic lines to build an additional maternity house and transitional housing for up to eight families,” she said. Some 95% of Foundation House’s clients graduate with stable housing, but that percentage could improve with transitional housing, Burns said. “Many of our clients do not qualify for income-based housing programs due to their histories,” she said. “We dream of being able to open a transitional housing program that would be affordable and allow our moms and other low-income families in our communities to live with very low rent for 5 to 10 years, giving them enough time to grow their income and personal stability to be able to afford standard market rent,” she said. “Our client volume literally doubled in 2020. We are on track to double again this year,” she said. Many of the clients do not want to be in program. Foundation House is providing other forms of help. “We do a lot of case management, court advocacy, helping individuals get into drug treatment programs, as well as helping get them into shelters that are a fit for their needs and interest,” she explained. Foundation House Ministries is “looking for people who are willing to make the sacrifice to build a new stable life for herself and her children. “Our girls have to put a lot of effort. They have to do the hard work, because this is their lives and their futures,” Burns said. “Many have never had to do this before. They have never lived on their own and had a job. Many did not graduate from high school. There are a lot of obstacles against them.” Some of the clients have criminal records, as well as drug and alcohol addictions where they are trying to maintain sobriety. “There are a lot of obstacles facing these women, so we come alongside them and we love them through it,” she said. “We help them figure out what their best course of action is. Then we help them achieve that. Burns has a twofold goal for Foundation House Ministries. “I would like to raise $50,000 so we can hire more staff and prepare to expand the property. The second goal is to “grow the relationships of the community so they will better understand who we are and who we serve.” She noted the ministry gives and receives referrals from the community. “We refer to places like Family Promise, Salvation Army, the Caring Place, Emergency Shelter, to New Hope Pregnancy Center, as well as Mental Health Coop and Hiwassee Mental Health. We receive referrals from CASA, Family Promise, the Homeless Shelter and the delivery department at Tennova Healthcare-Cleveland. We all work together as much as possible, she said. The two shops — Healing Springs and the Thrift Shop — are located on Broad Street. They were designed to be open through Christmas, but have been so successful. The gift shop features the job training products of Foundation House, as well as for Willow Bend farms. It also has seven other local handmade and handcrafted businesses’ products. Tickets for the luncheon are free; however, the ministry is asking companies and individuals to sponsor a table of six for $200, so the money raised can go 100% to Foundation House Ministries. Old Woolen Mill doors will open at 11:30 a.m. Businesses or individuals are asked to RSVP to the luncheon by emailing suzanneb@foundationhouseministries.org.

The following items were compiled by the Cleveland Bradley County Public Library from old issues of the Cleveland Daily Banner and its forerunners — the Cleveland Banner, the Journal and the Journal and Banner.