» Mission / History / Homelessness
Mission
The mission of St. Matthew's House is to provide
housing for the homeless, food for the needy, and an opportunity
to change lives in a spiritual environment that is both compassionate
and disciplined.
History
The Naples community first began its organized
ministry to the hungry and homeless in 1988. Through the concern
of the Greater Naples Ministerial Association, "the Task Force for
the Homeless" was formed. This Task Force began gathering contributions
of and food and clothing established a food pantry and launched
a search to find a suitable location for a "shelter" to care for
the homeless and hungry of our community. On November 25, 1988,
the first Thanksgiving Day meal was served to the homeless and hungry
and by late 1989 St. Matthew's House opened its doors in an old
firehouse on Airport Road South beside the collier County Government
Building. The "House With a Heart" as it later came to be called,
served three meals daily and offered eighteen beds for single men.
The vision of SMH became clear: to help people who had fallen through
the cracks of life to take back control of their lives and to begin
living meaningfully and constructively.
Since its beginning, SMH has expanded to include
men, women and women with children and infants. The present shelter
was built in 1994 and is two blocks north of the old firehouse.
The new facility houses 82 beds for men, 18 beds in a section
for single women; and a 20-bed unit for women with children and
infants. The old firehouse is home to 18 men and is the base of
our Soup Kitchen.
To address the dire need for affordable housing
for those in transition from homelessness, St. Matthew's House
constructed the Wolfe Apartments
in 2001. That same year our Naples thrift store was open; with
the Bonita Springs store opening in 2005 (See St.
Matthew's House of Treasures Thrift Stores). Also in 2005
SMH launched another opportunity for support with SMH
Catering.
St. Matthew's House continues its efforts to meet
the ever increasing needs of our community. With plans for renovation,
possible expansion and new support opportunities, St. Matthew's
House will tap into all its resources to provide for the poor,
the hungry, the homeless and the hopeless of our community.
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