Tuesday, March 28, 2000
Agency for needy expands
St. Raphael will relocate to larger site
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — Needy people in Hamilton and surrounding communities have been flocking to Mercy Franciscan at St. Raphael on Dayton Street for 58 years.
But the agency, operated by Mercy Health Care Partners, has outgrown its Dayton Street location.
Increasing demands for its services and its small, antiquated buildings are forcing the agency to move into the former St. Mary's Elementary School on High Street, a few blocks away.
“The number of people we serve has quadrupled since we started,” said Kimberly Munafo, development director for the Mercy Health Partners Foundation. “There's not enough storage space in the three houses we're in on Dayton Street for the food, clothing and furniture we hand out.”
Ohio's recent welfare reform efforts have driven more people than ever to seek help from the agency, said Sauni Bolin, executive director of St. Raphael. In the past 18 months, the number of welfare recipients in Hamilton has plummeted from 14,000 to 600, she said.
“They need a lot of support under them to be self-sufficient,” Ms. Bolin said.
St. Raphael offers a range of services to the needy, from food and clothing to furniture and job referrals.
Last year, the agency's supplemental food program served 3,079 families and referred 430 people to jobs.
St. Raphael plans to occupy the old school and the former rectory next to it by March of next year. The emergency shelter will remain at the Dayton Street site.
Mercy Health Partners is conducting a fund-raising campaign to cover the $1.2 million cost of renovating the two buildings at the High Street location. So far, $630,000 has been raised.
Although the fund-raising campaign is still in high gear, Mercy Health Partners hasn't delayed renovation work. It has replaced the old school's roof and is proceeding with other work.
Officials at Mercy Health Partners feel grateful to have the old school and rectory.
The school closed in 1996. In April of last year, St. Julie Billiart Parish sold the property to Mercy Health Partners for $100,000, far below the market value, Ms. Munafo said.
An anonymous donor gave the agency $100,000 to cover the purchase.
John Holbrock, co-chairman of the fund-raising drive, said the new location will provide more advantages than just expanded storage space.
“It's centrally located for serving all sections of Hamilton,” he said. “It also has a lot of parking space and gives us more room to grow.”
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