MISSION CHANGES — Urban Mission Ministries announced Thursday that it plans to close its shelter facilities by the end of the month. Officials said other programs, such as food assistance and its warehouse operation, are expected to be maintained. -- Warren Scott

STEUBENVILLE — Urban Mission Ministries will close its emergency shelters at the end of the month and has already stopped accepting new intakes in what its leaders are describing as a “revisioning” triggered by funding cuts.

Board Chairman Tim Long said Thursday the Urban Mission staff is already working to find alternate housing for the 14 people who were sheltering with them when they pulled the plug on intakes.

“I think probably by the end of the week all the women are expected to be housed in permanent housing and the men in the next couple weeks,” Long said. “We want people to be housed, to have shelter — that’s very important.”

In a news release announcing the changes, Long indicated the Urban Mission’s leadership had had “ongoing conversations, in light of our financial situation and budget cuts, about what the best course of action is for the Urban Mission and the community we serve.”

Questioned later, he said the funding cuts are coming from the state, though he’s not sure how, or if, that ties into federal budget cuts.

“All I know is the state grant we would have received was significantly slashed,” he said. “And, with the state, too, there was no way to make adjustments to our housing grants. We at one point had one shelter, then when we got Martha Manor there was no option for them to increase the number of people we were serving, so the strain grew and grew.”

The Rev. Kimberly Arbaugh, the mission’s executive director, described it as “a very hard decision, not one the board took lightly.”

“There was a lot of prayer, a lot of discernment, that went into making this decision,” she said, adding they’re hoping that by Oct. 31, “everyone in the shelters will have found permanent housing.”

“We recognize the challenges ahead, but we also see this as an opportunity to strengthen our impact and better serve our neighbors,” Arbaugh said in the release. “By partnering with agencies that specialize in housing services, we can collectively provide more comprehensive and effective support to those in need geared toward helping them find permanent housing and other resources they need to thrive.”

Later, Arbaugh said they’re “strategizing and working with other local agencies, those specializing in housing, to create a sustainable and effective system for those experiencing homelessness.”

She said the focus is on “how to best use resources to serve the most vulnerable in an ever-evolving community.”

“Moving forward, staff and volunteers are re-focusing programs to prioritize providing clients with access to food and improving their health and overall wellness,” she said. “It will allow Urban Mission to better serve the six counties in our region by focusing on the ministries that create conditions where people can experience healing, restoration and transformation, all in the context of a supportive community.”

“We’re still committed to offering a pretty wide range of services,” she added. “We’ll still have our food assistance programs, we’re revamping and bolstering our outreach program and community development initiatives, the services we’ve always done. This is allowing us time to revamp and reorganize those initiatives to be able to do them better and we’re hoping it will lead to stronger outcomes for individuals and their families.”

She said they’ll also be reorganizing staff and “are committed to supporting them during transition, and we’ll work with those needing to move on with placement assistance, resources and opportunities.”

“We really want them to be as successful as possible,” she said.

The mission had been operating shelters at the former Martha Manor on Fifth Street, and the former City Rescue Mission on Sixth Street. It’s food distribution warehouse is located at the corner of North and Sixth streets.