Pitino Shelter feeling financial effects of pandemic

Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·3 min read

Jun. 27—Harry Pedigo, executive director of the Daniel Pitino Shelter, is asking for community support as the nonprofit organization looks to move past the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pedigo said the shelter, 501 Walnut St., is not so much looking to launch a fundraising campaign as it is just being transparent with the Owensboro and Daviess County community about what its needs currently are.

"Financially, COVID-19 has finally caught up with us," he said.

Pedigo, who also serves as director of St. Benedict's Homeless Shelter, began serving as executive director of the Pitino Shelter last month.

"For two years, we weren't able to fundraise," Pedigo said. "We weren't able to get out and network. We operated more cautiously and meticulously to protect those in house."

Pedigo said not being to get out into the community to network and fundraise, while maintaining its services without volunteers, left an impact.

"You do that for two years and guess what happens, you eventually run out of funds," he said. "We are at about two or three months of operating expenses, that's OK, that is typical for most nonprofits, but going forward we need the community support."

Pedigo said financial support from the community is critical, because the shelter must have those donations to be able to tap into federal funding.

"I think a lot of people have these misconceptions that you get state funding and state funding is all the money you need, well that is not the reality," Pedigo said. "The reality is you get state funding for certain programs, and then those programs, in order to tap into that state funding and withdraw that state funding you have to have cash on hand. You have to have a matching set of dollars, if you will."

Essentially, the Pitino Shelter must spend the money first in order to get that money back in the form of federal funding.

"That is where the community comes in, that is where fundraising comes in," Pedigo said.

The Pitino Shelter has been a part of the Owensboro community for more than 25 years, working to move homeless individuals from an emergency shelter to permanent housing.

The nonprofit's emergency shelter has the capacity to serve 65 individuals, while the transitional homes have the capacity to serve four families with three bedrooms and one bath in each unit. The Nicky Hayden apartments house both individuals and couples in each of its 12, one bedroom and one bath apartments.

The Pitino Shelter provides case management services, which include numerous programming such as Rapid Rehousing, Homelessness Prevention, and Homeless Outreach, in addition to its St. Stephen Cathedral soup kitchen which provides lunch every day of the year and a monthly Food Pantry.

"We are asking for donations, whether it is a one-time contribution or a monthly contribution, whether it is $10 or $10,000," Pedigo said.

While there are currently some concerns that the Pitino Shelter might have to cut back on some its programming, Pedigo said he is hopeful it will not come to that.

"We don't want to do that; we don't think that we will have to do that because of the community," he said.

For more information about the Daniel Pitino Shelter, call 270-688-9000 or visit https://pitinoshelter.org.