MBF Spotlight: Midland's Open Door

If there's one constant with Midland's Open Door, it's an ability to adapt.

As a crisis shelter and soup kitchen providing a variety of free services for the homeless, the hungry and the needy, the Open Door's staff - made up primarily of volunteers - is faced with a myriad of life situations.

"People who come to us are all different," said Renee Pettinger, Open Door's Executive Director. "They come here for many different reasons; it can be substance abuse, it could be that they lost a job and don't know where to turn to next.

"Our job is to determine how we best serve each person."

In a season of giving, while also spotlighting non-profit organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region, Open Door stands tall. Founded in 1973 as a street outreach ministry, it has grown into a vital life-changing shelter that is crucial in transforming lives.

In 2013, the Michigan Baseball Foundation recognized Open Door's efforts by rewarding them with a $4,800 grant that was used to build a playground structure at the organization's House of Mercy women's shelter. Many women bring their children with them as they seek shelter.

"Before that we had nothing at all - just a yard," said Sue LaBean, a longtime Open Door volunteer and former interim Executive Director. "At that time (when the playground was installed) we had several young children and they just loved it. It's been a great addition."

"I was just over there and there was a 7-year-old and 3-year-old playing on it," Pettinger said. "It gives them something to do, especially if mom has things she needs to take care of."

The non-denominational Open Door, meanwhile, is always busy taking care of those in need. It provides crisis housing for men, women and children, hot wholesome meals daily through its soup kitchen, clothing, jail and prison prayer visits and transitional assistance.

The main Shelter House facility, located at 412 W. Buttles Street in Midland, has 19 beds with extra cots available when needed. It's designed as more of temporary shelter, with most of its residents actively seeking jobs and taking part in training and assistance programs.

"There is always a need," said Pettinger. "There's an assumption that (homelessness) is strictly a behavioral issue, but it's much more than that. We've had people who grew up in foster homes their entire lives and have had to deal with that. We have people who are literally living paycheck to paycheck."

Most clients in the Shelter House stay for 30 days. For those that need more time to restore their lives, a Restoration Ministry is offered in which particular care is given to individual case management involving a number of local agencies.

Focusing on individual cases with a multi-faceted approach to finding solutions is a priority for Pettinger, who is Open Door's first full-time, paid executive director.

"We're in a period of defining what we need and how we can best support individuals who come to us," she said. "There will be more of a personal focus - how we address the whole person in each individual case.

"We want one person working with a client who is their advocate, who is really working closely with them, and can be referring them to other organizations. A big priority is to be able to plug them into a training program."

The House of Mercy women's shelter can house up to 11 women and children, while a third house - located behind the men's shelter - has seven beds.

Open Door operates a free soup kitchen out of its main men's shelter on Monday through Saturday from 12-2 p.m. Pettinger said the kitchen serves 60 to 80 people each day, and more than 46,500 hot meals yearly.

"That's open to everyone in the area, all ages and backgrounds," she said. "We have regulars who really count on it, and others who are here for the first time.

"Meals are provided at no cost to guests staying at our facilities, and to area residents who either can't afford the food they need or cannot make it through the month on the resources available to them."

Open Door also operates a clothing ministry, called "God's Closet," which provides seasonal clothing to those in need.

Located behind the Shelter House, it's open every Tuesday and Thursday.

"It serves a lot of different needs," Pettinger said. "If someone is just out of prison and doesn't have clothes, we can outfit them. Or if people go on job interviews, we can help find the right clothes for that. We try to keep on hand what we can."

Like most everything involved with the day-to-day operations of Open Door, the clothing shed is run by volunteers.

"We have more than 350 volunteers," said Pettinger. "It's incredible really."

Former residents also help run the shelters.

"We identify someone with leadership skills and they serve as resident assistants," said Pettinger. "It's a volunteer position, but it's beneficial to us both."

As Open Door continues to evolve and seek the best solutions to the wide range of life issues it faces on a daily basis, it's also important to look at just how far it has come since 1973, when local pastor Stan Anderson started it as a street outreach.

"On Fridays and Saturday he(Anderson) would go out on the streets of Midland; at that time there were a lot of young men who were using alcohol and drugs on the streets," said LaBean. "He would befriend them and offer fellowship. They'd meet in a coffee shop and in the basement of a pool hall. From there they went on to a jail ministry."

Today, the Open Door is just what its name implies - a welcoming beacon for people in need, who often come to the organization, says LaBean, "with nothing but the clothes on their back."

For those people, however, Open Door provides the power of hope.

"I believe there's always a possibility of making life changes," said Pettinger. "It may seem impossible at times for some people, but it's always there."