The new Lifeline Village ministry, Grace Harbor, is a success so far.“We currently have seven residents and have had many other women calling about our services,” said Carrie Leland, director of Lifeline Village in Pell City. “I think we will be full by the first of the year.”
Lifeline Village, which has served the Pell City area since 1986, helps pregnant women and women who are homeless or in need of a stable and structured living environment, Leland said at a luncheon Thursday thanking supporters of Lifeline Village.
Grace Harbor opened Oct. 1, and has a maximum capacity of 14 residents.
“We help women at a time when they feel the most vulnerable,” Leland said. “It is a supportive and confidential environment, someone to walk alongside the women so they don’t have to walk alone.”
Leland said women who come to Grace Harbor bring the experiences that led to their current situation with them, but those past deeds are not held against them.
“We have homeless women in St. Clair County, women who cannot be self-sufficient and keep a place to live,” she said.
Leland said these homeless women do not fit the stereotypical urban homeless person look that many residents think of.
“These are not the people you see huddled around a burning barrel to keep warm or pushing their belongings in a shopping cart,” she said. “But they are there, and we find them in all sorts of places.”
Leland said recent economic changes have also caused hardship for some women.
“We have a 65-year-old woman who is coming to Grace Harbor because her cost of living has gone up, but her fixed income has not gone up,” Leland said. “We also have women who have burned their bridges and have no one else to call.”
Leland said women come to Grace Harbor on the worst day of their lives.
“They come to us when everyone else has said, ‘No,’ and they feel responsible for their circumstances and overwhelmed,” she said.
Leland said it usually isn’t one thing but many things that have led those women to their current circumstances, and they may not know where to start to turn their life around.
“We can help them and give them a place to start,” she said. “We show them the light at the end of the tunnel, and then the women realize that they can do it.”
Leland said the life skills training Grace Harbor offers is an important step in that process.
“It is the difference between giving someone a fish and teaching them to fish,” she said. “We teach them things like financial literacy and help them get drivers licenses.”
Leland said Lifeline Village is a faith-based organization, which also plays an important role.
“We tell them, ‘God has a plan for your life. He has good things in store for you. He loves you,’” Leland said.
She said Lifeline Village and Grace Harbor have ongoing needs that the community can help with, including donations of toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, bath soap), towels and washcloths, razors, twin sheet sets, bed pillows, paper products (paper towels, toilet paper), and cleaning products. Special needs include four twin beds, a vacuum cleaner, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, and clothing.
For more information, call Lifeline Village at 205-296-1470.
