May 16, 2012
The Crossroads Center Rescue Mission in Hastings will soon have a counterpart in Kearney. February 1 is the scheduled opening date, and staff members are determined to make it.
All staff members were pitching in, putting the finishing touches on bedrooms, bunks, doors, and kitchen areas. They want to make sure everything is ready and in place: the Hastings Crossroads shelter served over 100,000 meals last year, according to Assistant Director Rachelle Lipker. She says that there is already demand for Crossroads' services in Kearney: "We have a list of names, and so we're going to be...on a first come, first served basis."
Director Jerry Bumgardner says that Crossroads is a community coming together: "Just to be able to be here to take care of people, it allows anybody to come in and help, in any way, shape, or form. It just gives them...it allows them to be a helping hand, so when you give that to a community, there's nobody that has hands off."
Staff member Jim Sorenson says they've got the preparations handled: "It's all finishing stuff, we got all the rough stuff done. Just getting our ducks in a row here."
