Programs Offered for Our Residents

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In order to help our residents address the varied issues that led to their homelessness, Valley Mission staff seek to develop educational programs and to offer a variety of resources that support self-sufficiency.

Always Seek Knowledge.......ASK
In 2009, Valley Mission began an educational program entitled, Always Seek Knowledge. It is our goal to educate and empower our residents so they are confident in handling their responsibilities as they move out of shelter to independent living. This program - tagged ASK - connects shelter residents with community professionals who will offer information and personal guidance in four focus areas: Health, Finance, Legal Topics, and Nutrition. It is hoped that one-on-one discussions with an experienced professional may remedy current problems and prevent future troubles for residents.

Our first program, "ASK a Nurse," provided one-on-one sessions with Jeff Eavey, R.N. Shelter residents referred to Mr. Eavey discussed general health issues, dietary concerns and cold prevention. Mr. Eavey then met with the Valley Mission Case Manager, requesting referrals to appropriate resources for follow-up.

We plan to develop additional ASK programs, which will utilize the expertise of community professionals who are interested in working directly with our residents.

As part of the ASK-Nutrition component, Valley Mission will partner with Virginia Cooperative Extension who administers the Smart Choices Nutrition Education Program overseen by Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. This program is geared to teach low-income Virginians how to make healthy and cost-effective food choices. With the help of Kaye Stiltner, VCE Program Assistant, Valley Mission volunteers will be trained and given resources to teach weekly cooking classes to our residents. Shopping tips, healthy recipes, and food safety will also be taught, as well as monthly educational programs on related topics.

We are very excited by this partnership, and continue to seek other professionals interested in educating and empowering those who come to us for help.

Garden Program

The Mission's Vegetable Garden Program is located on the hill immediately behind the Mission facility. Shelter residents are actively engaged in this project, attending the plantings, maintaining the garden during the growth period, and harvesting the produce grown there. In summer, 2010, the program provided some fresh produce for our kitchen.

Since most of our shelter residents are from the local area where gardening and farming are a way of life, we have found many residents have the knowledge of what needs to be done. There is benefit to active involvement in this useful work, and the pride experienced by those who worked last year’s garden was apparent.

G.E.D. Program

This program is offered on-site at Valley Mission, but all teachers and resources are provided by The Adult Learning Center. This program meets at Valley Mission Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:30a.m. to 11:30a.m. Community members as well as shelter residents may attend this program.

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Programs in the development stage:

• Coach's Corner
• Nutrition Education
• ASK a Lawyer
• ASK a Banker
• ESL & Remedial Reading