Gazette Charities: Roark-Sullivan Center Saves Woman's Life

Thursday, 24 November 2011 00:00

By Rusty Marks

Annie might be dead today if it weren't for the Roark-Sullivan Lifeway Center.

The woman was sleeping on the streets of Charleston when she first came to the center, which provides emergency shelter and support for the homeless on their journey to find permanent housing.

Read more: Gazette Charities: Roark-Sullivan Center Saves Woman's Life

New Veteran Facility Building Campaign

Saturday, 05 November 2011 00:00

Since announcing our plans for expanding our Veterans program on Capitol Street, we have received funding opportunities from various sources to help us meet our $850,000 goal by November. To date, we have been able to receive $787,500 leaving us with $62,500 yet to raise in order to meet our building budget. We have come a long way and believe with the community’s help, we will get there!

RSLC will be seeking sponsors for naming rights and funding for the new Capitol Street Program at the end of November to help support the construction and needs of each room. There are a number of sponsorship opportunities ranging from individual dormitories to the new building name.

Read more: New Veteran Facility Building Campaign

Success Story

Saturday, 05 November 2011 00:00

Recently, our agency had the opportunity to serve an individual that was the victim of identity theft that was creating barriers in his obtaining housing.Someone had falsely used the client’s social security number when they registered with the West Virginia State Police as a sex offender.  Can you imagine? This could happen to any of us.

By working with his case manager at Roark-Sullivan Lifeway Center, this individual was able to provide the State Police with documentation verifying his true identity. Upon verification, the State Police presented the client with an official letter stating that he was in fact a victim of identity theft and was not the same individual listed on the registry.  The process required diligence and patience, but with the support of his case manager, the client was able to overcome this obstacle and obtain permanent housing.  This was a rare situation in that someone was experiencing homelessness as the result of being the victim of a crime.With the support and services provided by our agency, this individual was able to move towards being an independent and successful member of our community.

Meet Team EnerVest

Saturday, 05 November 2011 00:00

On September 14th, the United Way of Central WV kicked off its annual Day of Caring event at the Charleston Civic Center. This year over 450 individuals participated with a total of 41 corporate teams volunteering.

The Roark-Sullivan Lifeway Center welcomed Team EnerVest to our new Veteran Transitional Living Facility on Capitol Street. This was their first year participating in the UW Day of Caring and we were so pleased to have them. This 12-person team managed to remove wallpaper borders from shared and private areas of the third floor and paint a brighter shade of yellow to hallways, dormitories and the community living room-and what a huge difference it made! 

Since our target move date is toward the end of the year, many factors played a role in the working conditions of the facility. Upon arriving, the team quickly learned that the elevator had yet to be added and the A/C was not in working order. However, this team was not discouraged. They jumped right in and welcomed the task at hand and worked until the final minutes of the day. Team EnerVest left their project site with a sense of pride knowing they truly had a hand in transforming a space that will sooner, rather than later, be a place to call "home".