Former Delta school becomes shelter

Students have moved out of the old Delta Elementary School and into a new building. A couple with a dream of helping people in need have moved in.

The school is now home to the Amen Center, a new not-for-profit organization with a goal of providing a transitional housing shelter and religious center for the homeless or abused. The center is run by a husband-and-wife team, Danny and Shirley Hollowell.

Although they weren't quite ready Wednesday, the couple took in a man laid off from a truck driving job based in Perryville, Mo., his wife and their dog. Alan and Helen Malsbary are from Oregon and were living on the road.

"Doing this is something God put in our hearts," Danny Hollowell said. "We couldn't say no."

The center is Christian-based and open to singles, couples and families. The Hollowells have arranged for the Cape Girardeau Police Department to run criminal background checks for people who need to stay, and anyone staying is expected to help with the improvement and upkeep of the building and attend an hour of Bible study once a day.

Currently the Hollowells have set up two old classrooms as bedrooms with seven beds available. They have also moved into one of the classrooms so they can act as around-the-clock administrators of the center. Another classroom has been set up as a kitchen and dining area, where three meals will be served every day.

Danny Hollowell began talking to the Delta School District more than a year ago with the idea of setting up the soon-to-be vacant school three miles northwest of Delta as a shelter. The Hollowells reached an agreement with the district that they would pay $159,000 over three years to purchase the 30,000-square-foot building and 15-acre property. In August, they made their first payment of $1,000.

Shirley Hollowell said volunteers from several area churches, including the United Methodist Church of Marble Hill, Mo., have been invaluable for their help in painting and helping ready rooms. Area businesses have donated cabinets and other items needed to transform spaces from classrooms to living areas.

Other than Danny Hollowell being trained as chaplain, neither Hollowell has experience in dealing with people in crisis, they say, yet they wanted to open the center because they feel a need to help people.

Shirley Hollowell recently stopped working after 26 years as a hairstylist to be at the center full time. Danny Hollowell just returned to his evening job at Standley Batch Inc. in Cape Girardeau to pay for the center's expenses.

The Malsbarys will stay at the Amen Center until Alan Malsbary is able to find another job. Helen Malsbary is unable to work due to epilepsy and other health problems.

One service the Hollowells are providing is transportation to and from job interviews.

"If they need to go, we will take them," Shirley Hollowell said. "Anything we can do to help them get back on their feet."

The Malsbarys found themselves with no place to go in Southeast Missouri last week when he received his last paycheck and were running out of money to stay in hotels. They were given four nights at the Town House Inn in Cape Girardeau by the Community Caring Council before a call was made to the Hollowells.

"We weren't sure we could find somewhere to go to take all of us, but then we heard about this place," Alan Malsbary said.

Although the Hollowells said they expect they'll have mostly women and their children in the center, they wanted people in other situations to have a place to go.

Shirley Hollowell said eventually she hopes the Amen Center can expand by receiving donations.

"We have enough space to have 75 people here; we just need to figure out how to make that happen," she said.

The center is seeking beds and chests of drawers to outfit more rooms in addition to monetary donations.

Plans for the center also include making the school property a "crisis center," Danny Hollowell said. Much of the school and other areas of the property are being improved by him and volunteers. When those improvements are completed, he said, he wants to install a helicopter pad so the property can be used as a base in case of an emergency situation like a natural disaster and for air evacuations.

Other plans include holding church services in the school's gym soon and planting a garden on the property next year where people staying at the center can help grow and gather food for meals, Shirley Hollowell said.

The Amen Center can be reached by calling 576-1113 or found online at www.amencenter.org.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

Delta, MO