For over a decade, this church has served the homeless. Security costs could keep them from continuing.
PETERSBURG—“Good morning, God bless you,” a volunteer said as she smiled at a tall man with a billowing, curly beard that had whisks of white. She handed him a bag filled with fruit, tuna salad, crackers and a cup of coffee through the serving window.
When Glenda Rose walked through the door, he waved excitedly at her. Rose lit up with exuberance, the corners of her eyes forming creases, her big smile beaming at him. He motioned an air hug, unable to give her a real one since he was on the other side of the window. She blew him a kiss.
“Nobody messes with her,” he said.
Rose chuckled.
Rose is the director of the Backdoor Ministry at First Baptist church dedicated to feeding the homeless and the needy in the city. Every Monday through Thursday morning, she opens up the “backdoor” of the church, located at 235 W. Washington St., at 9:30 a.m. and she and other volunteers hand out food. Some days, people are already lined up at 8:30 or 9 a.m. to get their food.
Rose knows almost every homeless person by name, and the regulars know her. She and the volunteers often get attached to them. For their birthdays, Rose likes to give them a goody bag with hygiene items.
“That’s Larry,” she said to me. He wouldn’t acknowledge them or say thank you to them when he first started coming, only giving them orders for what he wanted in his lunch bag.
“And I said that we’re going to kill him with kindness,” she said. Larry did come around and open up to them, and now greets them with a smile. “He’s a different person no doubt and I think we had a little something with it."
Some who come to the Backdoor ministry aren’t homeless, like Larry. Rose thinks they come because they want company, they want to know that they are seen. “They enjoy us talking to them and remembering them,” she said.
Some who come live in group homes or low-income senior housing in the area. Others come from the streets, desperate for help.
The ministry serves as a network connection and incubator of resources for the homeless. Two individuals, Deacon Leila Jordan from Chalice Community Christian Church and homeless outreach coordinator Janice Johnson from the Commonwealth Catholic Charities, are there regularly to put individuals up in motels, connect them with resources, or help them find housing. Another church in Colonial Heights asked to partner with them to feed the homeless on Saturdays.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am for this ministry," one lady who comes to receive a bagged lunch every morning told the Progress-Index.
From humble, organic beginnings to a thriving ministry
The Backdoor Ministry was founded about over a decade ago by the assistant pastor Lucy Dorr. Nearly every other day, people knocked on the church door to ask for food, bus tickets, and more since the church was located on Washington St. Dorr decided to have a couple snack bags ready whenever that did happen, and soon, homeless people began showing up in larger numbers once word got out that they were giving food away.
Rose took over the ministry in 2019 once Dorr had passed away. She's brought structure, organization, and direction to the ministry through her business background in a way that has maximized the impact, says Pastor Rob Dawson. Under Rose, the volunteer base has expanded, as well as the number of people they serve.
“Glenda has done a superb job," he said.
Leading the ministry has been Rose’s saving grace. Her daughter had recently passed away from ovarian cancer and Rose was overwhelmed with grief. Dawson knew she needed something to redirect her focus, and asked her to start volunteering. Eventually, her asked her to lead the ministry.
“This was the best thing that could happen to me,” said Rose.
This year, they’ve seen a significant increase in those that show up at their doorsteps. Last January through April, they gave out around 2,000 meals, and a total of over 6,000 meals last year. The first four months of this year, they given away 2,500 lunch bags. Some days, the number of people who line up have nearly doubled from last year, topping 50. Now, they also serve dinners for people on Monday night.
Ministry's biggest need is help with the costs for police officers
Serving the homeless is where Rose found purpose and new life. But in order to continue, Rose says that they need more help from the community.
Churches in neighboring cities have been generous in donating food and snack items to the ministry. But their biggest need is having the money to pay for city police to keep them safe during the hours they serve food.
“There’s no way we can run this without security...that's just our biggest need right now," said Rose. "If we didn’t have people to donate we couldn’t run this place."
Paying for security has been a hefty investment for the 25-member church, which costs them $22,000 a year. Last year, an anonymous donor helped offset the cost. But this year, keeping up with the payments has been a concern on Rose’s mind.
“I don’t know if we can make it through the end of the year,” she said.
She and the other volunteers know how integral the Backdoor Ministry is in helping the vulnerable. When Salvation Army closed its men's shelter at the end of 2017, people had no where to go. First Baptist opened as a temporary winter shelter for one season but couldn’t keep it going since they didn't enough have the manpower for someone present every night to keep watch.
Efforts to try to open a permanent shelter in the community since then have been thwarted by the city.
“It’s hard to understand that something like that could happen, that there’s nothing available for these people,” said Rose as she looks down with her brows furrowed.
Despite the challenges, Rose and her team continue loving and serving the homeless.
“I love what I do, it involves a whole lot more than what you think,” she said. “We not only give them food, we also try to share Gods love with them."
To donate to the Backdoor ministry, you can mail a check to First Baptist Church, PO Box 445, Petersburg VA 23804 or contact Shannon, the church secretary at 804-733-7484.
Joyce Chu, an award-winning investigative journalist, is the Social Justice Watchdog Reporter for The Progress Index. Contact her with comments, concerns, or story-tips at Jchu1@gannett.com or on Twitter @joyce_speaks.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg homeless ministry could be disbanded after over a decade of service
