Jesus said: "I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Matthew 25:36
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:9
The Doyle Hansen House of Hospitality was started in 1979 by the Rev. Bob Cook based on the above Bible verses. It was named in honor of the Rev. Doyle Hansen, who along with his daughter, tragically drowned on a family trip to a lake. He was the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church when this happened in 1978.
The house is located at 1521 6th Avenue, Des Moines, IA, and houses 17 men. It is a place for men released from prison or the criminal justice system. It is not a state run institution nor a halfway house. It is a privately funded hospitality house. Rules are simple--no drugs, no alcohol, go out and find a job. There is no set time limit for the men to stay. They do need time to refocus and get their life together. The average stay is 5 and 3/4 months.
They are hoping to get another house for a transitional house. It would be an independent living unit where the residents pay rent to establish a rental hisotry in order to move on to their own living space. They need furniture, kitchen utensils, bed and bath items, and basic housekeeping supplies.
There was a wonderful article on the Doyle Hansen House of Hospitality in the Des Moines Register on Sunday, January 2, 2011. You can read it online or it is posted on the mission bulletin board (next to Ward Hall). Basically, Brian Kelly dropped off a $2,000 check for the men for Christmas. It was decided to split the money 17 ways with one stipulation--each had to give away half of the money. The article tells what happened--the joy the men found in giving to others.
Doyle Hansen House of Hospitality is one of the organizations that our congregation supports through the Mission Committee. Thank you to everyone for your support of all our mission projects!
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