NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - There's been a men's shelter in downtown Newport News for decades, but now the Peninsula Rescue Mission (PRC) is looking to expand, to help single women in need.
“No one sat around as a child thinking to themselves 'I’m going to be homeless, I’m going to be caught in addiction.'" said Randy Giles, a former client of PRC.
"We wanted to be firemen, we wanted to be nurses, we wanted to be football players, but this can happen to anyone at anytime.”
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Giles, who once battled addiction, now works for the mission.
“They gave me an opportunity to restore my life,” said Giles. “If you are in my situation know that there is help available, and you can get through it.”
Reverend Alan DeFriese, CEO of the Peninsula Rescue Mission, said they've gotten more and more calls in recent years of women without children needing shelter.
“We just want to help them put life back together, we want to help them break the cycle,” said DeFriese.
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The mission bought a building off of Warwick Boulevard near Jefferson Avenue and are turning it into a women's shelter. The first floor will have a dining hall, kitchen, counseling rooms, and a chapel. The second story will be where 20 women can sleep, bathe, and do laundry.
Renovations on the new building will happen this summer with the projected opening at the beginning of next year.
