by Emily McDonald

Men who are deeply committed to making a change in their lives have a refuge in Chattanooga where they can work toward accomplishing their goals, thanks to a unique partnership between the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lookout Mountain and Orchard Knob Missionary Baptist Church, Chattanooga.

The House of Refuge opened earlier this year in its new home built by the two churches with a lot of help from community. The house was established in the early 1990s by the Rev. Alfred Johnson of the Church of the First Born.

Men who come to the house must be at least 18 and must be referred by a rehabilitation program or some other agency. “We do not take walk-ups,” Johnson said. “We are not a halfway house or a shelter and we are not for somebody who wants to sleep off a drunk.” The house is for men who “need an extra push to get started in life and get to where they need to be,” Johnson said. “It’s place to get focused and get a jump-start on life.”

The house was operating in a condemned building in the St. Elmo Historic District when it came to the attention of the leadership of Good Shepherd and Orchard Knob. A rash of church burnings in 1996 raised concerns at both churches and meetings were held to discuss the issue.
“We wanted to be prepared in case we had church burnings in our area,” said the Rev. Lou Garcia, deacon at Good Shepherd. The Rev. Harold Lester, minister of Orchard Knob, suggested being proactive rather than reactive, he mentioned several projects the churches could undertake and the House of Refuge was chosen.

“We brought all our men together and told them what kind of project we had in mind,” said Dr. Curtis McKoy, chairman of missions for Orchard Knob. “We had a very spiritual meeting and [the Rev.] John Talbird [rector of Good Shepherd, Lookout Mountain] spoke and kind of energized us to go forth.”

Going forth, however, was not easy. The planners realized that the best thing to do was to raze the existing House of Refuge and build a new house. However, Chattanooga’s historic zoning commission initially opposed the demolition because the house was one of the oldest houses on the block.

Eventually, however, approval was obtained and all other necessary steps were taken to enable the house to be torn down, including winning over neighbors who were not in favor of the house remaining in the neighborhood. Ann Aiken, an architect and communicant at Good Shepherd, did the drawing for the new house.

The two churches had agreed to be equal partners in the project and share the cost, which went a little above its budget of $40,000. They also made a commitment to the neighborhood to stay with the project and “be there for the people in the house,” Garcia said.

The house was built by members of both churches and also members of the Church of the First Born. Apprentices from Carpenters Local 74 used the house as a training project. Local businesses provided a variety of services, such as demolition and electrical wiring.

“We could never have built the house without the other churches,” Johnson said.

The House of Refuge provides a 13-month program for the men and encourages them to find jobs and avail themselves of the services they need. They are also required to attend worship services at the Church of the First Born and later at a church of their choice.

“Before I came into the house, I was spiritually dead,” said resident Larry Anderson. Now, “I have a future, I have peace.”

Emily McDonald, a communicant at St. Paul’s, Chattanooga, is the East Tennessee Episcopalian’s South East area correspondent.