J.O.Y. Ministries dedicated a new men’s shelter Monday, giving the organization a new resource to serve a population it previously had been unable to accommodate.
Hannah Peck, vice president of J.O.Y. Ministries, spoke to those attending the dedication about the organization’s mission and its work in the community.
“Truly we try to be the hands and feet of Jesus and serve people any way that we can,” said Peck.
J.O.Y. Ministries provides resources for people experiencing food insecurity, addiction, homelessness and other needs.
The organization also operates Cally’s House, a shelter for women; and Ruth’s House, which provides multiple units for women and families.
Peck said that when she first joined the organization, there was a conversation about the need for a homeless shelter. At the time, she said, she was unaware of how great the need was in Adair County.
“I said, well, I guess people aren’t in there very often and everyone laughed,” she said. “Because it’s full almost every single night of the year.”
While J.O.Y. Ministries had shelters available for women and families, Peck said the organization had not been able to provide the same type of service for men. There is currently a waiting list of men who are in need.
The new shelter changes that.
The Adair County Fiscal Court donated a building that had previously been used as a polling location to J.O.Y. Ministries. Community members then came together to transform the building into a small, livable home for men in need of shelter.
The house was named Kemp Harbor House in honor of Dennis Kemp, who died in 2024 and left his estate to Columbia Christian Church. Helping with the men’s shelter is the first project the church has undertaken with funds from Kemp’s estate.
Richard Phelps spoke on behalf of Columbia Christian Church during the dedication. He said when the county reached out to him about the building, he contacted Maggie Coleman, treasurer of J.O.Y. Ministries.
Phelps recalled Coleman telling him that the organization had been praying for a way to provide a shelter for men and her prayers were answered.
The dedication brought together those who helped make the shelter possible and those involved in J.O.Y. Ministries’ ongoing work in the community.
John Davis led the group in prayer over the house before Mark Klingberg placed a plaque on the building honoring Kemp.
The dedication marked the opening of a new shelter but also the continuation of a community effort to provide a place for people who need one. Everything that J.O.Y. Ministries is able to do is funded exclusively through donations.
By Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
