A homeless shelter badly damaged by fire over the summer is expected to reopen in the coming days, allowing about three dozen men to move back in from temporary quarters.
The July 4 fire at the Muncie Mission caused up to $2 million in damage and displaced 61 people who were living in the two-story dormitory at the time. Investigators blamed the fire on a discarded cigarette that ignited a mulch pile.
Ray Raines, the mission's executive director, said staffers and residents would be able to move back into the building before the end of the month.
"We're about six weeks ahead of schedule ... and that truly is a blessing," Raines told The Star Press. "Some things move faster than others, of course, and it's been a long road. But we're getting there. Bit by bit, we're heading in the right direction."
The shelter has 37 men staying at its nearby Attic Window consignment shop and its office staff has been working inside trailers near the parking lot on projects such as the mission's upcoming 80th anniversary celebration.
If all continues to go well, the building that opened in January 2009 will be completely renovated by the second week in November.
Raines said the shelter has had to turn away many men seeking housing since the fire and that the reopened building will give it room for about 90 men as winter approaches.
"With the move, we'll be able to welcome some more men into the fold, more men to work with the other men who have been with us through this difficult time," he said. "And these men have been great. They've helped us get through this trying time."
Bobby Bowman, a 13-month resident of the mission, said he was visiting his family along the Gulf Coast in Alabama when he heard about the fire and decided to return in order to help.
"Seeing the building getting closer and closer to opening every day, that fills me with hope," Bowman said. "It fills us all with hope. So I wanted to be here to see the building reopen and fill other men with hope."
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