Members of the Rotary Club of Salisbury spent today (Saturday July 11, 2026) helping The Christian Shelter renovate an old house it owns to allow it to expand its services to homeless persons. This work project continues a long-standing commitment the club has made to the Christian Shelter.
The Christian Shelter does not have the ability or the space to allow guests to stay at the shelter long enough to transition from homelessness into a permanent, more stable situation, especially with single men. Women and mothers with children have been able to use the Village of Hope as a transitional tool to allow them to get back on their feet. With the men however, The Christian Shelter has nothing to offer them.
With that in mind, The Christian Shelter decided to take the vacant house at 625 Short Street and convert it to a transitional house for men. With some grant funding from several local organizations, the Christian Shelter was able to redo the entire outside of the house including a new roof, siding, windows as well as a new porch.
The next step was to refurbish the inside of the house, which is where a Rotary District grant came into play with members of the Rotary Club of Salisbury leading the refurbishing. The renovation includes tearing out flooring, removing some damaged or old drywall, coming back in and redoing the floors with new flooring, hanging doors for the bedrooms, cleaning and replacing any drywall, and then painting all of the rooms. A small back deck with railings and steps off the back of the house will be constructed along with some fencing.
The 107-year-old Rotary Club of Salisbury annually helps The Christian Shelter with financing as club members obtain donations through their participation at the time of the autumn Seagull Century bicycle ride. This work project is just one example of club members being People of Action.
More information about the Rotary Club of Salisbury is available at www.rotarysalisbury.org.
