The Bowery Mission facts for kids
 |
|
.jpg)
The main building at 227-229 Bowery.
|
|
| Established | 1879 |
|---|---|
| Type | private nonprofit |
| Headquarters | New York City |
|
Region
|
New York metropolitan area |
| Services | basic needs and emergency care, homeless services, residential programs |
|
Key people
|
James Winans, President & CEO |
|
Parent organization
|
Christian Herald Association |
The Bowery Mission is a nonprofit group in New York City that helps people who are experiencing homelessness. It provides important services like hot meals, a safe place to sleep, and long-term housing programs. The group's goal is to help people overcome poverty and homelessness through community and support.
It is one of the oldest charities in New York City. The Mission continues to serve meals and hold chapel services three times a day at its historic building at 227 Bowery. This location is in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Since the 1990s, The Bowery Mission has grown from a men's shelter and soup kitchen into a larger organization. It now has six locations across the New York City area. The organization is a member of the Citygate Network and is recognized for its financial accountability.
Contents
What The Bowery Mission Does
Help for Adults
At its downtown locations, The Bowery Mission gives hot meals, clothing, and a safe place to sleep overnight to New Yorkers in need. It also provides other emergency services.
At its uptown locations, the Mission offers faith-based housing programs. These programs help adults work toward their personal goals, heal from difficult experiences, and learn to live independently.
Programs for Children
The Bowery Mission also runs programs for children, including Mont Lawn Summer Camp and City Camp. These programs give kids from low-income families a chance to build leadership skills and grow as individuals. City Camp, located in East Harlem and the South Bronx, offers classes, tutoring, and mentoring all year long.
The History of the Mission
The Bowery Mission was started in 1879 by Reverend Albert Gleason Ruliffson and his wife, Ellen. It was the third rescue mission to open in the United States. The founders were inspired by their friends, Jerry and Maria McAuley, who had opened the first mission in New York City.
The Mission moved several times before settling at 227 Bowery. It started in a small room at 14 Bowery. In 1880, it moved to 36 Bowery, and then to 105 Bowery in 1887. After a fire destroyed that building in 1898, the Mission moved to 55 Bowery. It stayed there until the building had to be torn down to make way for the Manhattan Bridge.
In 1895, Dr. Louis Klopsch, the owner of the Christian Herald newspaper, bought the Mission to help it financially. It became one of the many charities his newspaper supported. A key board member was Sarah J. Bird, who was called "the Mother of the Bowery Mission" for her many years of service.
In 1900, John Greener Hallimond began managing the Mission. He started new services, like a home for women in Brooklyn and a Free Labor Bureau in 1908. The bureau helped unemployed people find farm work outside the city. He also started the famous breadline in 1902, which provided food to many people.
The Building at 227 Bowery
The Bowery Mission moved to its current home at 227 Bowery in 1909. This building is so important that it was named a New York City landmark on June 26, 2012.
The building was first built in 1876 for an undertaker. When the Mission took it over, architects Marshall L. and Henry G. Emery redesigned it. They made the outside look like an old English inn. They also added beautiful stained glass windows that show the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The inside was turned into a chapel.
In the 1970s, the front doors were painted a bright red. A man who had been helped by the Mission chose the color. For him, the red color was a symbol of hope and a new beginning.
In 1980, the Mission bought the building next door, 229 Bowery, and connected the two. Today, this location continues to serve meals and offer chapel services three times a day. People do not have to attend the chapel service to get a meal.
The Mission Today
Starting in the 2000s, The Bowery Mission expanded by opening more residences for adults in different parts of the city.
In 2017, another organization, the New York City Rescue Mission, joined with The Bowery Mission. Its building at 90 Lafayette Street now provides emergency shelter and services.
The Bowery Mission provides a huge amount of support. In 2020, it gave out over 429,500 meals, 104,000 nights of shelter, and 67,500 showers. It also gave away nearly 27,600 articles of clothing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mission continued to provide housing for about 325 people every night.
Connection to Mont Lawn Camp
The Bowery Mission is connected to a children's camp called Mont Lawn Camp. The camp was started in 1894 by Louis Klopsch, the same person who helped save the Mission. He used leftover money from a food drive to create a summer home for children from the Lower East Side.
The camp was first located in Upper Nyack, New York, for 69 years. In 1961, it moved to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. After the Christian Herald newspaper stopped publishing in 1992, The Bowery Mission took over running Mont Lawn Camp.
See also
In Spanish: Bowery Mission para niños
- Homelessness in New York
- Bowery
- New York City housing shortage
- National Register of Historic Places listings in New York County, New York
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
