Athens: Shelter Shutdown?

Ten years ago today, Earl Delmarter opened the doors to The Healing Place and began a journey he never thought was possible.
Earl tells NewsChannel 32, “I had been on uppers, downers, and all arounders.  I was a junkie for 20 years.”
Earl spent seven long months here, recovering from addictions and repairing his once broken life.
“Not only did I find Christ here, but I was taught how not to process my anger and relapse prevention skills.  That helped me succeed one day at a time for ten years,” says Earl.
And that testimony is no different than Craig Butts.  He came here eight years ago with a severe addiction to cocaine.
Craig adds, “Cocaine was my God and I served it well.  I was always after my next hit.  I would sell my mother, father, or anything to get my hands on that drug.”
But Craig says this shelter; this opportunity to learn a Christian -based recovery program, was a major turning point in his life.
Craig adds, “It all started right here.”
Right here is where more than 250 men a year, including the homeless, find their healing place.
Mike Ayers, a patient, says, “It’s help me see my life more clearly.  It’s given me direction; where I want to go.  If it wasn’t for this place, then I don’t know where I’d be.”
It takes $5,000 a month to run the shelter, which operates on a state grant and donations from the public, with no cost to the patient.
The problem is the shelter is now running out of both money and time.
Shelter President, Dr. Tony Simpson, adds, “If we don’t get anymore donations right now, then we got about two to three months left.  So, we’re in bad shape.
Now the past and present patients are left wondering if these beds; the foundation that God gave to them to start their lives, would disappear.
The 12-year-old shelter on West Broad Street is still open to the public, but workers are asking for donations to keep the doors open.
If you would like to donate, send money to The Healing Place of Athens at P.O. Box 7818, Athens, GA 30604.