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Catalyst Rescue Mission urges Clarksville to help fund homelessness services; shelter says annual cost about $500,000
Summary
Jim Moon, CEO of Catalyst Rescue Mission, told the Clarksville council his shelter serves dozens nightly and asked municipalities to contribute toward an estimated $500,000 annual operating budget, citing an average census of 93 and about 77,000 meals served last year.
Jim Moon, CEO and president of Catalyst Rescue Mission, asked the Clarksville Town Council for municipal support during a presentation at the May 20 meeting, describing the shelter’s work across the region and its funding gap. He said the organization runs on a mixture of local donations, limited state grants and partnerships and asked cities to contribute to sustain services.
Moon provided program details and a funding request: “It takes around a $500,000 a year to run the shelter the way it is,” he told the council, and outlined a $50,000 contribution target from each of three nearby cities as part of a plan to assemble the roughly $500,000 needed. He said the shelter’s average census last year was 93 and that the operation served about 77,000 meals, including walk-up meals for people outside the facility.
Moon illustrated the shelter’s work with individual cases, including a multiagency effort to help a refugee he identified as Sharmila return to her home country, and he described partnerships with local hospitals, law enforcement and reentry programs. He said the mission helped transport and house people, assisted with paperwork and provided case management and furniture to place people in housing.
During Q&A, Clerk-Treasurer Stonecipher and council members asked about regional coordination and how Catalyst interacts with neighboring coalitions and service providers. Moon said Catalyst serves a broader region, receives modest state funding for shelter operations and outreach (he cited figures of roughly $43,000 a year from IH CDA sources in recent years), and emphasized the shelter’s role as a local safety net. He offered the council detailed financial documents on request and provided contact information for follow-up.
The council did not take formal action during the presentation; members thanked Moon and said they would review the materials and follow up as appropriate.
