FALL RIVER – BayCoast Bank donated $11,000 to help the Fall River Emergency Shelter program keep several homeless individuals out of the cold this past winter.
According to a news release from the bank, the First Step Inn – the city’s lone permanent homeless shelter at 134 Durfee St. – was at full capacity due to an increase in the homeless population from the previous year. First Step Inn provides safe shelter and meals for 20 homeless individuals daily, according to its website, and an additional 30 beds during the winter months.
The rise in homeless individuals prompted Solomons Porch, a nondenominational church in Fall River, to commence a 10-week emergency homeless shelter program that ran from Jan. 2 through March 12, the release states. Several churches in the city aided in the effort to provide meals and beds to 71 homeless individuals who “otherwise would have had nowhere to go,” according to the release.
Solomons Porch Pastor Thomas Mello said in a prepared statement that BayCoast Bank’s donation covered the program’s full cost, including cots, blankets, screening supplies, bus passes and other needs for the individuals the shelter assisted.
“Without the financial support, our program would not have existed, potentially creating a massive problem for the city of Fall River,” Mello said.
“It was our privilege to fund this, regrettably, much-needed program,” said Nicholas Christ, president and CEO of BayCoast Bank, and a member of the Fall River Mayor’s Task Force to End Homelessness, in a prepared statement. “A modest donation can go a long way toward changing lives when there are dedicated volunteers like those at Solomons Porch who are willing to commit their time and compassion to a good cause. Solomons Porch and the Fall River Emergency Shelter are to be commended for their efforts to help those in transition.”
James Bessette is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Research@PBN.com.
