For 60 years, Faith Mission has been a place of hope, compassion and dignity for neighbors experiencing homelessness and hunger. As we mark this milestone, we honor the staff, volunteers and clients whose care, service and resilience have shaped
Faith Mission and continue to give this work its heart.
Voices of Faith Mission: 60 Years of Service
I love working at Faith Mission. I've been here for 18 years, and it is the people who have kept me here for so long. I love helping people. The management really looks after the staff. We are more than co-workers. We are a family."
I have always wanted to work with people who are up against challenges and overcoming barriers and do the work that needs to be done. This work is a passion of mine. I have stayed at Faith Mission because I love our clients. They are so resilient and accomplish so much. I also have the best team to work with every day. Everyone is here for a shared purpose. Over the years, I’ve watched us grow, I’ve helped us move and everything has continued to improve. It is great to see that we are still going strong and continuing to meet the needs of the community.”
I have a bad knee so it’s hard to get work. While on the streets I could never stay clean. I smelled terrible, and I could only find scraps of food. It was no life at all. For a while I was so depressed that I figured the only way out would be to end my life. Shortly after that incident, I came to Faith Mission for help. I have so many people to thank for my new life. That also includes those who give so generously to Faith Mission."
After retirement, I decided to help in the Faith Mission kitchen. After a while, I realized it was an area that was really needed. The cooks work long hours, and it feels good to lessen some of their burden in preparing food, serving, cleaning up and making the residents feel comfortable.”
60th Anniversary Toolkit: Share the Story
To mark this anniversary, we are sharing a Faith Mission 60th Anniversary Toolkit to help raise awareness of our 60 years of service and highlight homelessness in Central Ohio. We invite you to use and share these resources to help us celebrate this milestone and spread the story of Faith Mission’s impact over the past six decades. The toolkit includes a brief overview of the 60th anniversary, sample media posts and our 60th anniversary graphic.
Toolkit Resources Available for Download
Faith Mission's Story
For six decades, Faith Mission has served neighbors experiencing homelessness and hunger with compassion and dignity. This timeline highlights the moments that shaped our legacy over the past 60 years. As you look back, we invite you to help shape what comes next. By giving a gift today you become part of Faith Mission’s story and help ensure hope, help and stability for those who need it most.
Thanks to the partnership of Charles Lane and Rev. Harold Goers, Faith Mission opens its doors to homeless men at 177 E. Long St. At 5 p.m., the doors open and 14 men enter to eat a hot meal and warm themselves.
Faith Mission becomes a full-fledged homeless shelter when a rooming house was purchased on the floor above.
A six bed dormitory opens for single adult women.
A second corporation, Faith Housing, is established to purchase affordable housing and provide stable places for clients to live.
The Second Chance program starts, which is a transitional housing program for single homeless men and women that provides intensive case management during the transition from the shelter to permanent housing.
The Obregon Clinic opens to provide quality health care to people experiencing homelessness using all volunteer doctors and equipment.
Faith Mission and Faith Housing became a part of the Lutheran Social Services family.
The Clinic at Faith Mission opens with expanded medical, dental and vision services.
The Faith Mission Resource Center opens to provide assistance with job search, resume writing and housing searches.
Faith Mission on 8th Ave., a new additional men's shelter, opens just outside of downtown Columbus.
Supportive Services for Veterans Families program starts, which helps veteran families obtain stable housing, whether they are currently homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless.
After the relocation of the administration building a couple years prior, the shelters move to 217 N Grant Ave., creating the campus we have today.
The first participant in the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program was enrolled. The program offers supportive services and housing assistance to low-income individuals living with HIV and their families with the goals to stabilize housing and increasing access to healthcare.
With support from OhioHealth, the Medical Respite opens to provide a place for people without housing who are exiting the hospital to rest and heal while also working on finding permanent housing.
Faith Mission is a respected and integral part of a collaborative system offering services to people experiencing homelessness in Central Ohio.
