Retirement community temporarily shelters homeless

A month after opening for business, The Oaks, a for-profit independent retirement community at 2323 W. Grand St., took in 43 homeless people from New Higher Ground Ministries Dec. 22. The homeless – ages 2 months to 78 – were left without shelter Dec. 17 after city officials found fire, safety and building violations at New Higher Ground Ministries, 1700 N. Benton Ave. The Oaks opened Nov. 12.

“It was sinful for them to be sleeping out in the cold when we had all this space available,” said Marie Terry, who co-owns The Oaks with Tammy and Rajav Echessa.

The 27,500-square-foot, 54-room facility that sits on 4.85 acres can house up to 103 people. It was purchased from The Kitchen, which used it as a rehabilitation center. Terry declined to disclose the purchase price. Deeds of trust totaling $521,250 for the property were recorded with Greene County July 23.

About $130,000 worth of renovations was required, Terry said, including carpet, showers and commodes. There are five employees.

“We have been praying ever since we got our license, ‘Please, dear Lord, give us 15 residents by the end of the year.’ That’s our break even. We forgot to say ‘paying.’ … We had to laugh about that,” Terry said.

The Oaks offers residents four types of rooms, ranging in price from $950 per month to $1,550 per month. The price includes three hot meals a day, weekly linen and housekeeping services, activities and transportation to physicians or pharmacies.

“This is not what the building was planned for, but we are completely according to code,” Terry said. “We have our business license, we’ve got our certificate of occupancy, we’ve got our health department approval, we’ve got our liability insurance. So we’re completely in compliance. They can’t come and kick them out of here because there’s nothing in the law that says we have to charge for our residents.”

Bishop Carva White of New Higher Ground Ministries said that he is actively looking for a shelter for the 43 people, and he anticipates them leaving The Oaks in about two weeks. “Right now we have nowhere to go,” he said.

Mike Ussery of The Bridge, a Nixa church, helped White set up an account at Liberty Bank, where donations are being accepted for the group. Ussery declined to disclose how much money has been raised.

“One of the things that we’ve done is because of the (big hearts) of … The Oaks. Their expenses had to go up significantly when they took in these other people. I’ve encouraged people that, since they’ve opened their home, basically, to help other people, if we could go behind the scenes and help them, that would be a great thing,” Ussery said.

Terry declined to put a price tag on how much it will cost The Oaks to house their guests or how many rooms are being occupied. The group from New Higher Ground Ministries is providing their own food.

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