Organization serving homeless finally gets own home
Community Ministry of Prince George’s, which feeds thousands of homeless people, provides temporary housing to evicted tenants and helps pay mortgage, rent and utility bills for struggling, low-income families, will move Sunday into an Upper Marlboro property donated by Walter Predigar Jr., a longtime county resident who just moved to Pennsylvania. The Rev. Terence Collins, executive director of Community Ministry, said paying rent takes away money from those in need. The organization has been housed at the Feggen in Seat Pleasant for the past 10 years. Predigar, whose deceased parents Walter and Marion volunteered for several years with Community Ministry, said he was moved when Collins told him about the challenges the organization faced. ‘‘[Predigar] said, ‘The Lord has spoken to my heart to provide a place for you to call home. My dad loved serving the homeless, and I would donate my home in Upper Marlboro,’” Collins said. Community Ministry, an umbrella organization of 400 churches in the county, has an annual budget of $325,000 that is funded by member churches and private donors. The center will be open seven days a week giving adolescents whose problems may stem from family problems a place to retreat during difficult times. Collins said the new center will provide a ‘‘haven for real support” however it will not serve as a housing unit or a soup kitchen. He expects 60 to 100 adolescents to make use of the center this year after it opens. Upper Marlboro resident Ronald Wright Sr. expects his son to resume use of the center over the summer. Seventeen-year-old Ronald Wright Jr. has attended several counseling sessions with Community Ministries in community centers around the county this year and his father said he’s seen a positive change because of it. ‘‘He needed some positive role models,” said Wright Sr. of his son. ‘‘He thought the right answer was smoking and swearing... [Collins] is a positive role model for the youth because he understands what they’re going through.” After the sessions, Wright Jr. ended up doing his school’s required community service hours by volunteering at one of Community Ministry’s food banks. There are also plans to build an obstacle course near the center where adolescents can go on excursions for confidence and team building exercises. Predigar’s fiancee Joan Beavers recommended the name ‘‘House of David” because of the Biblical representation the Jewish King David who became famous for slaying the Philistine giant Goliath. ‘‘David made some mistakes and became king and made some more mistakes but lived a full life,” Beavers said. The time and space restrictions often created a crunch for employees said Ryan Nickles of Lanham, a 17-year–old volunteer at the organization. ‘‘They needed a place of their own so they aren’t restricted to other’s rules,” Nickles said. ‘‘Like if we had to get out of a place by five and Rev. Collins had an appointment at six he would have to meet them at their house.” Community Ministries is still looking for donations of paint, carpet and other building materials for the house. The dedication and opening of the Community Ministry’s new home is scheduled to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at 2308 Pernod Court. E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.
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