The Reclamation Project, Inc

Resource center for refugees open, busy

1/26/2009

Just two months after opening, the new Resource Center for Refugees, 2826 S. Calhoun St., is bustling with activity. Some come to learn English, others to apply for a Green Card or Medicaid or to find a doctor. All who come see the center as a beacon of hope and help.

“The lighthouse is symbolic of what goes on here,” said Meg Distler, pointing out the lighthouse on the center's letterhead. Distler is executive director of St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, which oversees the various federal and state grants and contracts that fund many of the services at the center. Assistance is coming none too soon, Distler said.

“We had 610 visits in December, with 310 of those unduplicated (individuals),” Distler said. “I thought maybe if we saw 200 or 300 this year, that would be good. The numbers say a lot. There's just a tremendous need.”

The resource center's mission is to help refugees who have been in the United States for at least six months and up to five years. It is that time frame in which many find themselves with government benefits ended, yet they have no job and are still struggling to learn English.

The Burmese are the fastest-growing refugee group in Fort Wayne, with 1,793 resettled here by Catholic Charities since 2004. About 800 more are expected this year, but those numbers do not include hundreds of refugees moving here after first resettling elsewhere.

Ei Ei Phyu, a native of Burma and a nurse, works at the center to connect refugees with health-care providers through Advantage Healthcare Solutions, the state-contracted company providing medical case management for Medicaid beneficiaries.

“I had 280 cases in November and December; 59 for one day,” Phyu said, noting diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure are among the more prevalent conditions seen. A program called Healthy Homes, funded by the health foundation, offers lead poisoning prevention and education. High lead levels have been found in some Burmese children and adults.

Minn Myint Nan Tin is executive director of the Burmese Advocacy Center (BAC), a nonprofit helping refugees with employment, self-sufficiency and health. The BAC's staff, all who speak Burmese languages, teach classes on job interview preparation, how to care for health needs, use of public transportation and other life skills.

Attendance at English as a New Language (ENL) classes at the center are booming, with more than 80 people in some sessions. ENL is for refugees who speak but do not read their own language. Topics in the health education classes include: hygiene; pest/rodent control; healthy living; the American health-care system; immunizations; and care for common illnesses.

As in any group of people, differences abound. Nan Tin said she reminds clients to “leave at the door their political and religious beliefs. They can practice those on the outside but here in the BAC, they are coming to learn, to work together.”

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How you can help

♦Donate furniture, kitchenware, linens, toiletries, clothing and cleaning supplies to the Household Goods and Clothing Bank. For more information, call 456-8969, ext. 301.

♦Volunteer with The Reclamation Project's Circle of Friends; call 494-5742 or visit www.thereclamationproject.org

♦Take a class on teaching conversational English as a New Language (ENL); the eight-week course at the resource center, taught through Ivy Tech, is 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Jan. 27. The course is free, but participants must commit to teach refugees. Call Angie Harrison at at 494-5742 or e-mail her at circle_of_ friends_fw@msn.com.

A wealth of resources

Other agencies offering services at the center include:

♦The Reclamation Project (TRP): a catalyst for local awareness of refugee issues and needs through such efforts as Circle of Friends volunteers.

♦Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA): bilingual staff help Burmese obtain government assistance such as Medicaid and food stamps.

♦Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic: Attorneys offering free legal service on immigration, housing and other non-criminal matters; appointments currently available through TRP by calling 494-5742.

♦Super Shot - free vaccinations for children up to age 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. on the 3rd and 4th Mondays of each month.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090122/NEWS/901220334

Source: The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne IN

Volunteers needed to teach English as a new language

1/14/2009

Help refugees and immigrants in city.

From staff reports
The Reclamation Project, a local organization working to assist immigrants and refugees resettling in Fort Wayne, needs volunteer help. Here are two opportunities:

♦Teach English as a new language.

Training on becoming a volunteer English instructor will be offered 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for eight weeks, beginning Jan. 27, at the Community Resource Center for Refugees, 2826 S. Calhoun St. Training is free. Volunteers are asked to commit to teaching language sessions throughout the year. To sign up or for more information, contact Angie Harrison, Reclamation Project programming and affordable housing development coordinator, at 494-5742 or angie@thereclamation project.org via e-mail.

♦Orientation session.

Learn about trends in refugee migration here, services people are receiving and ways volunteers can help during a session at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Community Resource Center for Refugees, 2826 S. Calhoun St. Reservations requested; contact Angie Harrison at the above phone number or e-mail to RSVP.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090114/NEWS01/901140323

Source: The News Sentinel

A refugee safety net

9/17/2008

The Community Resource Center for Refugees will open this fall on South Calhoun Street, not a moment too soon for the thousands of new residents who call Fort Wayne home. It’s encouraging that local, state and federal officials are finally working together to help a fast-growing refugee population more quickly become a part of the community.

The disconnect has been particularly apparent in recent months. Refugees who depend on government assistance when they arrive with nothing, often after years in a refugee camp, are suddenly facing the state’s new privatized welfare-eligibility system. Under the system, applications are made through a toll-free number or a Web site. It’s a burden for many who need help; it’s a barrier for refugees who speak little or no English.

Belatedly, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is stepping in with assistance aimed at the burgeoning refugee population. The center, housed in former offices for Anthony Wayne Services, will include an FSSA office where refugees will receive assistance in applying for food stamps, cash assistance and Medicaid.

In addition, the state will hire someone to coordinate medical care for Burmese refugees. About 5,000 Burmese refugees now live here, with as many as 1,600 more expected to be resettled here over the next two years.

To his credit, Congressman Mark Souder has been taking an active role in ensuring that refugees receive the federal assistance to which they are entitled. And he is increasingly speaking up about their employment opportunities – or the lack thereof.

The resource center, at 2826 S. Calhoun St., will be paid for with a $490,000 grant from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. AWS is donating the use of its building for two years. Some of the grant money will be directed to the efforts of The Reclamation Project, a non-profit organization that matches volunteers to refugee families and is now beginning to address housing issues; to the Burmese Advocacy Center, which helps refugees with health and wellness programs; to East Allen County Schools, for a liaison to work with Burmese families in the district; and to Ivy Tech Community College, for English instruction efforts.

The influx of refugees is not new to Fort Wayne. Catholic Charities has been bringing refugees to Fort Wayne for decades as the designated resettlement agency. What is new is the rate at which refugees are arriving and the strained economic environment in which they must be resettled. Churches, non-profit groups and volunteers have been ably assisting for many years, but the task now demands well-coordinated government services.

By ensuring that the safety net is in place to help refugees learn English, become accustomed to the culture and community, find jobs and build new lives, the entire community will benefit. The resource center is a much-needed strand in that safety net.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080917/EDIT07/809170349

Source: Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN

Extending refugee welcome

8/25/2008

The city’s growing refugee resettlement efforts will see a welcome boost with the establishment of a World Relief office here. The Baltimore-based evangelical organization will join Catholic Charities, non-profit groups and the education and social services offices already working to smooth the transition for refugees.

The agency will have offices at Simpson United Methodist Church, 2501 S. Harrison St.

“We’re glad to have someone else come in and help. World Relief has been around for a long time, and the faith community is familiar with the organization,” said Kristie Jacobson, executive director of The Reclamation Project, a non-profit group now assisting the refugee community with housing, transportation and other needs. “Because of that faith connection, World Relief expects to help based on linkages with churches – and those linkages are really the way you start.”

The need is great. Catholic Charities has served as a refugee resettlement agency in Fort Wayne for more than 30 years, but its task has become overwhelming in recent years as increasing numbers of refugees have been relocated here by the U.S. State Department. The federal government, through the Office of Refugee Resettlement, offers some benefits and assistance, but needs far outweigh the resources.

About 4,000 Burmese refugees are believed to live in Fort Wayne now, along with refugees from Bosnia, Darfur and Somalia. Precise numbers aren’t known because some move to and from other cities where they were first relocated to join family members.

Refugees are not illegal immigrants. They have been relocated by the U.S. government because they faced persecution in their home countries for political, religious or ethnic differences.

“The Burmese are a great example of individuals who have faced atrocities in just fleeing from their country,” Jacobson said. “Then they were put in refugee camps, supposedly on a short-term basis, but many have spent 10 to 15 years in the camps, which are not safe places. … If most Americans could visit a refugee camp, it would completely adjust their thinking. Once they understand – it does change hearts, and it does change attitudes.”

And when communities come to understand and to accept the new residents, they ultimately benefit. Edwin Silverman, bureau chief for refugee and immigrant services for the state of Illinois, spoke to several dozen local agency representatives last week in a workshop hosted by Invent Tomorrow. He noted that foreign-born residents now constitute just over 4 percent of Indiana’s population but represent 5 percent of its workforce. They bolster the local economy as workers, taxpayers and consumers.

“The Burmese are refugees today, but tomorrow they are going to be part of the Fort Wayne community,” Silverman said.

The services offered by the experienced World Relief agency should add to the work Catholic Charities and groups like Jacobson’s are now doing. And all of those efforts must be supported with a greater commitment from state government. The effects of Indiana’s troubled welfare privatization have been particularly hard on refugees, who are entitled to the benefits under federal and state guidelines and who need the assistance in order to become working, tax-paying citizens. There’s a missing link between work being done in Fort Wayne and the efforts and resources of the federal government.

By working together, northeast Indiana residents can help ease the transition for their newest neighbors. World Relief’s assistance is much appreciated in that partnership.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/EDIT07/808250301

Source: The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN

Rick and Dorian Maples

7/9/2008

Rick and Dorian Maples work together to mentor refugee families through the Reclamation Project. The two have helped families new to the country learn English and assisted them with basic needs, such as food, living arrangements and transportation. “You don’t have to leave Fort Wayne to do missionary work,” Rick says. “In a small personal way, (we’re) trying to demonstrate unconditional Christian love to non-Christian new Americans.”

What is the best part about the work you do?

Dorian: “The smiles on their faces when we make a breakthrough in understanding. We’re all relieved we can communicate in English. And seeing their success. They love America and they’re so happy to be here and want to be a viable part of our community. That’s exciting to watch.”

How has volunteering changed you?

Dorian: “Rick and I were raised to serve others. But with this, we stepped out of our comfort zone and served people different from us – not of the same faith or the same culture. We have learned so much from them, and they had fun teaching us their language. We had lots of laughs about my Indiana accent, trying to say words in their language.”

Why is it important for people to volunteer?

Dorian: “I think there are a lot of people that don’t realize the gifts and talents they’ve been given and what a blessing it is to share those with others.”

Rick: “We have a responsibility to take care of our neighbors.”

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20080613/FOCUS03/806130308&SearchID=73323238688562

Source: The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne IN

Sharing the American spirit

7/9/2008

A weekend that marks the nation’s independence from tyranny is a good time to reflect on the newest residents to embrace that independence. In Fort Wayne, that would be the hundreds of Burmese refugees who have relocated here recently – many of them from refugee camps in Thailand – all of them seeking the same life, liberty and pursuit of happiness this nation’s founders sought 232 years ago.

The best way to reaffirm the spirit of that declaration would be to step up and help those seeking what the Founding Fathers established. There are countless opportunities.

The Journal Gazette’s Rosa Salter Rodriguez wrote about some of them in a recent story, including efforts by Fellowship Missionary Church members to help refugees learn English and master the skills they need to thrive in the community. The church is just one of many groups and agencies devoting time and talents to help newly arrived refugees, but its outreach is particularly ambitious and generous. The Global Connections program began in 2001 and has helped African, Arabic and Hispanic immigrants and refugees over the years. With the recent influx of Burmese refugees, the church is hosting dozens of English-learners every week, divided into classes based on their language skills.

Catholic Charities, under whose auspices refugees are relocated here, does a commendable job of getting families settled with the basic necessities. But the help offered through the U.S. Department of State is meager and temporary. Bridging the gap between the few resources they are allotted and what they need to succeed represents the greatest challenge. Fortunately, groups like Fellowship Missionary and other congregations are stepping up to help. The Reclamation Project, a non-profit agency, has a program called Circle of Friends, which matches groups of residents to newly arrived families to help them adjust with the challenges of transportation, shopping, health care, job-hunting and others. It’s that type of assistance that will have the strongest, most immediate effect.
Schools and other public institutions are stepping up to serve the fast-growing refugee population, but greater efforts by the community at large are needed. The best way for the area’s newest residents to succeed is for them to become fluent in English and comfortable with the culture. Fort Wayne has a good framework for helping its newest residents; now it needs volunteers to step up and help.

To help:
• To volunteer for existing or upcoming English classes for the refugee community from the former Burma, call 260-615-8257 or 426-7323.
• To learn more about the Reclamation Project’s Circle of Friends, call 341-1993.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/EDIT07/807050305

Source: Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN

South Calhoun Street

9/10/2007

South Calhoun Street
By Emma Downs

It’s been said that Calhoun Street is the melting pot of Fort Wayne.

Cynthia Fyock, owner of the Calhoun Street Emporium, prefers the term “cosmopolitan.”

“In major metropolitan cities, you’ll see a blending of cultures,” she says. “(Calhoun Street) has Asian grocery stores, Mexican restaurants, antique shops, a Vietnamese restaurant. We’re a very diverse group. So I like to call this a cosmopolitan block.”

Across from Fyock and half a block north, Juan Cobarrubais echoes Fyock’s sentiment. Standing in the dining area of his restaurant Tamaleria Don Juan, he is counting the various businesses that have opened on South Calhoun within the past six months. It takes two hands.

“There (are) a lot of new businesses,” he says. “I think 10 new places since I opened.”

Cobarrubais sells tamales – “The best in town,” he says – from his mother’s recipe. But before he entered the culinary world, he did a little of everything. Painted houses, installed fans, worked for a landscaping company.

“I used to sell just to my friends and people I knew,” he says. “But then I broke my ankle. I thought, ‘Man, I need a job.’ I opened this place. This is something I know I can do.”

Being in such a diverse area has increased Cobarrubais’ business to non-Hispanics. But he hopes more people of different cultures will venture into the city to try the ethnic specialties he and other South Calhoun restaurants provide, he says.

“Americans really like (the food),” he says. “They don’t have a family recipe, so they come here.”

Across the street from Cobarrubais’ Tamalaria is the Rialto Theater, an 11,000-square-foot former movie theater that is currently being rehabilitated by The Reclamation Project, a non-profit group hoping to turn the building into the Rialto World Café and Cultural Center.

The center caters to refugee families, pairing them with American families who help mentor the new residents by teaching them life skills, such as driving and buying a home.

“As Americans, we do a disservice to ourselves when we don’t embrace other cultures,” says Kristie Jacobson, the project’s executive director. “Many times, we’ll see enclaves of different people – the Laotian community, the Hispanic community – become pocketed within a city. But we can all greatly benefit by what richness these cultures bring to our culture as a whole.”

The project hopes to turn the theater into a hub of connection for the city’s growing immigrant and refugee populations. Future plans include educational programs, a cultural center for music and art and café space, Jacobson says.

“Like Calhoun Street itself, I long to see the theater become a place where communities can mesh,” she says. “Eventually, the theater proper will be a multifunctional space for wedding receptions and meetings. And that will keep it connected to the American community. But it will always have an international feel, because it will be a place where the international community is at home.”

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20070909/FEAT/709090325&SearchID=73292950962141

Source: The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN

Reclamation Project opens first phase of ‘new' Rialto

7/19/2007

The two-story mountain of debris is gone from the movie-house floor, but the majority of work remains before the old Rialto Theater begins its new life.

The Reclamation Project, a local nonprofit born from Fellowship Missionary Church, acquired the 1920s-era theater in the 2600 block of South Calhoun Street in late 2003. The goal is to transform the 11,000-square-foot space into a cafe and cultural center serving Fort Wayne's immigrant and refugee communities.

Once one of the city's grand neighborhood theaters, the Rialto fell on hard times in the 1970s and early 1980s, eventually shutting its doors as a porn theater. Standing empty for more than a decade left the building in worse shape than project leaders imagined.

“You know, when people said we were really stupid, they might not have been too far off the mark,” said Kristie Jacobson, executive director of the Reclamation Project. Setbacks, including replacing the roof and dealing with serious structural problems, derailed the group's ambitious three-year timetable.

“Then reality sets in,” said Jacobson, “and you do start to realize, OK, things are going to take a little bit longer than anticipated, but you push along.”

So, after nearly four years of pushing along, the Reclamation Project finally has something to show off. Opening The Gallery, a multipurpose space, in the old Tobacco Road shop adjacent to the theater completes the first phase of the operation. It's only 800 to 900 square feet of an 11,000-square-foot project, but it may be a big enough foothold.

“It's fortunate when you do see the vision, because I think you can start to visualize what things are going to look like down the road,” said board member Joe Johns. “It's an encouraging start.”

Jacobson said she hopes the renovations will be finished in three years. The reality of the project sets in when she looks toward the doorway leading to the larger, unfinished area.

“Boy, the price tag really jumps once we go through those doors.”

A $200,000 grant from Fellowship Missionary Church, 2536 Tillman Road, will help.

“That's the largest gift we've ever received,” Jacobson said. The money will come during the next year as the church completes a $1 million capital campaign. The Reclamation Project is hoping to use the money to encourage matching donations and capitalize on the momentum generated by completion of the first phase.

Jacobson said about $480,000 has been raised and spent to date. She estimates that $1.5 million in work remains to be done, but hopes the work of volunteer labor and in-kind donations will offset that cost.

But donors don't want to fund good causes, they want to fund effective ones. The Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, for example, receives four to five times the number of requests it is able to grant, according to Executive Director David Bennett.

“Clearly, it's a very competitive process,” he said. “Lots of projects don't get funding. ... good ones. We read many applications from very, very worthwhile projects in the community.”

Jacobson said the Reclamation Project has applied for — but not received — money from the foundation.

Looking at the finished walls, paint and furniture in The Gallery, it's not hard to imagine how the rest of the work to the Rialto may turn out. “It's almost a down payment of sorts, a down payment on a vision,” Johns said. “I would say there's a sense of optimism now that, ‘by God, this might just be doable.'”

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070719/NEWS/707190315&SearchID=73287642991534

Source: The News Sentinel

Rialto Gallery bustling with varied activities

7/19/2007

When renovations to the Rialto Theater began three years ago, supporters knew it would take years of hard work and a lot of money to transform the historic structure into a resource for local immigrant and refugee groups.

Now the first phase of the estimated $2 million project — the conversion of the old Tobacco Road store at South Calhoun and Pontiac streets — is complete. What once was a cigar and cigarette store that sat adjacent to the Rialto with street and theater entrances has been remade into The Gallery — a space that will serve many functions, including language-skills acquisition, cultural assimilation, and raising community awareness of immigrants' and refugees' needs.

The Reclamation Project, the nonprofit organization spearheading the project, plans to turn the Rialto itself into the Rialto World Café and Cultural Center, a place for Fort Wayne's international residents and refugees to mingle with neighbors.

In the meantime, the Reclamation Project will continue to use The Gallery for its operations base so it can continue to assist families with finding affordable housing and to host Circle of Friends, a group of Americans who mentor refugee families.

The Darfur Peace and Development Organization, a nonpolitical, nonprofit humanitarian group promoting reconciliation and relief efforts for the people of Darfur and aiding Darfuri refugees in the United States, is also using The Gallery for office space.

Free, informal English as a Second Language classes are taught in The Gallery on Tuesdays from 8 to 9 p.m. for Hispanic residents seeking to expand their job opportunities.

“These people usually work in construction or jobs where they don't need English,” said Luis Castaneda, who teaches the classes.

Kristie Jacobson, executive director of the Reclamation Project, said local attorneys are interested in providing pro bono legal aid for immigrants and refugees Saturdays beginning this fall in The Gallery. “We're dealing with the most marginalized community, the one with a lack of education,” said Jacobson. “Sometimes they can be taken advantage of. This is another way to advocate for them.”

“The motivation for doing this comes from Christian faith and desire to help those who are low-income or disadvantaged,” said David Steiner of Barrett & McNagny, who began working with Jacobson during acquisition of the Rialto.

He hopes the attorneys will give advice on landlord and tenant issues, consumer credit and contract issues, and the immigration process. “We need to develop a network of lawyers who can devote their services. Maybe a Saturday every other week for an intake session, then refer out to lawyers who take cases on a pro bono basis,” Steiner said.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070719/NEWS/707190335

Source: The News Sentinel

After Darfur, Starting Anew in the Midwest

4/4/2007

Please read the NY Times article below regarding the Darfur/ Fort Wayne connection, with a quote from board member Joe Johns.

"FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Looking at old pictures taken in the desert sand in the Darfur region of Sudan, Fawzia Suliman pointed to one after the other: mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, and so on..."

“Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead,” she said. “All dead.”

The last place that Ms. Suliman called home was a grass-topped hut that janjaweed militia members burned to the ground. She offers the scars on her feet as testament to how fast she ran to escape them in the summer of 2005, at the beginning of an unlikely journey that led to an apartment here.

“If I talk to people from Darfur, I say come here,” said Ms. Suliman, 24, who has taken a job making utensils and cups in a plastics factory. “It’s too nice. Everybody knows New York City. But my God, all this is America, too.”

As many as 300 people originally from Darfur are living in Fort Wayne, with others scattered across smaller Indiana cities like Elkhart, South Bend and Goshen. Together, they form one of the largest concentrations of Darfuri in the United States.

The Darfuri in the Midwest stand out because by their own choice — they are not part of a resettlement program — they have skipped the big-city, East Coast introduction to America in favor of settling in a slower-paced agricultural region. Their numbers have increased since the first arrivals in the late 1990s and as the crisis in Darfur has escalated in recent years, with many reaching back to rescue more of their family members and friends.

The pastoral similarities between Darfur and Indiana, however tenuous, bring some comfort to the immigrants who are haunted by what is still going on back home.

“When I want to relax, I drive myself to the farms,” said Suliman A. Giddo, co-founder of Darfur Peace and Development, a nonprofit relief organization here. “That reminds me a lot of my country. I like to see the sky with the moon and the stars. That is the thing many of us like about this place.”

Much of Darfur, an arid region the size of France in western Sudan, remains a zone of vicious fighting between the government and rebel forces. The years of village burning, rape and mutilation have driven 2.5 million people from their homes, and left at least 200,000 dead.

“I do things to be happy and live life, but on the inside I am very sad,” said Ms. Suliman, who is seeking asylum in the United States and still mourning relatives who perished in the janjaweed’s raids. “I cry every day about how my family died.”

In her apartment on the north side of the city, with her feet propped on the sofa, she is a bittersweet world away from the home in Darfur that she fled and the refugee camp in Chad where she ended up. The camp is where, she said, a friendly man whose name she cannot remember said, “If you get to America, call my cousin and he will help you in the Indiana.”

Ms. Suliman had never heard of such a place. But after she left Chad on a student visa bound for the United States, she called the number. Area code 260. Fort Wayne. Much to her surprise, she got an answer and also tapped straight into a quiet but thriving community of her own people living new lives amid the flat farmland of northern Indiana.

“I came fresh from the problem area to America and I did not know I would have so many friends here,” Ms. Suliman said in the English she still struggles to master. “So many people from Darfur come to help me, to say welcome here. I still cannot believe, every day, my God.”

The first Darfuri families drawn to Fort Wayne in the late 1990s were attracted by an abundance of industrial jobs and the city’s extensive web of charities, volunteer church groups and nonprofit social service agencies. Free health care is available at church-run neighborhood clinics. Volunteers teach English most weeknights, and make home visits. The city offers wireless Internet access at no cost.

“Cities like New York are not attractive for our beginners, too busy,” said Nourain Basheir, 41, one of the first Darfuri to settle in Fort Wayne in 1996. “This community welcomed us cheerfully and respectfully. They understand our people.”

Despite Indiana’s reputation among Americans as a monolithic slice of the country, in parts of Africa it is known — mostly by word of mouth — as diverse, welcoming and affordable.

Fort Wayne, for instance, has one of the largest populations of Burmese in the United States, and for a city its size — approximately 250,000 residents — it has a considerable international flair, with many families from Vietnam, Congo and Somalia. Seventy-seven languages are spoken in the Fort Wayne public school system.

So when the Darfuri began to arrive, Fort Wayne already had considerable experience with newcomers, city officials said.

But this group was clearly different.

“This is a particularly poignant situation here,” Mayor Graham Richard said. “We understand that.”

The Rev. Joe Johns, pastor of a local church, is typical of some people here who had little if any connection to Darfur just a few years ago, but who are now committed activists. “Here I find my literal neighbors in Fort Wayne, their families are undergoing such horrific situations,” Mr. Johns said. “I had to understand how to love my neighbors as myself. The answer was to travel to Darfur and be of some value.”

Mr. Johns said he had made two trips, as a relief worker and chaplain. The pastor of a church in Goshen, the Rev. Myron Bontrager, and seven congregants were to leave in late March to work in Sudan. “I don’t know if there’s any other thing that we’ve gotten behind to rally as a church like this,” Mr. Bontrager said before the group left, armed with $30,000 in donations to help set up a water purification system.

Despite the outpouring of support, there have been challenges for the Darfuri in Indiana. Misunderstandings along cultural lines persist, for instance. Africans who eat with their hands, as is their tradition, might draw stares at buffet restaurants, as might women wearing Muslim headdress while at work assembling auto parts. But in interviews, many immigrants from Darfur said they had found mostly peace.

“This place is quiet and the people are kind,” said Khadiga Abdalla, who left Darfur in 2003 and is studying nursing at a community college. “There is no problem here.”

With the $7.85 an hour she earns working in the plastics factory, Ms. Suliman has created her first real home, a place of safety and, to her, overwhelming abundance. She marvels at the central air-conditioning unit that also delivers heat when she is cold, at her refrigerator stocked with eggs and juice and beans. She is appreciative that the sun and rain do not come through her roof.

Her time in Fort Wayne has been peppered with many firsts: first time wearing pants, driving a car, using a fork, saving money in a bank account, not having to walk two hours for fresh water, being able to eat to the point of feeling full.

“One thing I still have a problem with is the nice food in America,” she said. “I keep the pictures of my family on my refrigerator to remember when we could not eat. It makes me sick. I do not like to remember.”

There is a picture of her husband on the refrigerator, too. They were separated during their chaotic nighttime flight from the approaching militia in the summer of 2005.

She prays that he is alive, that one day he will meet their 1-year-old son, Zakaria.

“I am working to find him,” she said, “so I can bring him here and show him how nice the life is.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/us/02indiana.html?ex=1176264000

Source: The New York Times

Foundation of Faith

11/12/2006

Foundation of faith; Church groups build housing ministries
Publisher: The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

First published: November 12, 2006

For pastors, it's a common frustration.

Someone knocks on the door seeking emergency help. The person needs food or heat or money to pay utility bills or high rent for barely acceptable housing.

Church workers want to help. Often they get the person through the crisis. But they can't help thinking about the long term.

"You want to go up the ladder and ask, ‘Why? Why do they need the assistance?'?" says Jon Swanson, administrative pastor of First Missionary Church in Fort Wayne. "You need to find some ways to truly get them on their feet. It's thinking about the long term, not just the short term."

Around Fort Wayne and the nation, some religious groups are finding ways to do just that. And increasingly, one way is for faith-related groups to become housing developers.

The trend is partly a byproduct of an alphabet soup of letters and numbers - CCHDO and 501c(3). CCHDO (pronounced cho-doe) stands for Certified Community Housing Development Organization, and 501c(3) refers to a portion of the Internal Revenue Service code that allows charitable groups to be exempt from taxes and their donors to claim deductions on their federal income tax returns.

Locally, such organizations have been proliferating as a way for religion-based groups to develop various kinds of housing as part of their ministry, says Heather Presley, Fort Wayne's deputy director of housing and neighborhood services.

So far, she says, 501c(3)s and CCHDOs have been used to develop housing to help the formerly homeless and those at risk for becoming homeless, in addition to new immigrants, refugees and senior citizens.

There are even organizations in Fort Wayne that work to help religious groups set up 501c(3)s.

But that's not the extent of faith-based housing involvement. This year, a faith-based group proposed developing market-rate housing for families on Fort Wayne's southeast side using private-sector financing.

And, one city non-profit, NeighborWorks, has lined up four largely black churches as sites for upcoming programs educating people on how to become homeowners and finding applicants for a pool of money for down-payments.

"It makes sense," says Nicole Turner-Ridley, NeighborWorks executive director, of the strategy for the agency's Kingdom Builders program. "Churches are where the people are."

Denise Porter-Ross, the city's coordinator for community and faith-based initiatives, says religious groups working in housing isn't new - denomination-based groups have worked for several decades on developing assisted living and continuing-care communities for retired people.

But she traces part of the recent housing fervor to the Purpose-Driven Church movement. An expansion on the ideas of Christian author Rick Warren's book of the same name, the movement urges churches to define and focus efforts on a specific ministry.

"I think a number of churches have done that and come up with housing," she says. "I think (the housing ministry) comes out of the Christian focus on reaching out and taking care of someone else."

Glynn Hines, a Fort Wayne city council member and trustee of Greater Progressive Baptist Church, which was a pioneer in Fort Wayne in spearheading a 501c(3) for housing development, says church involvement in housing can help stabilize the community. He thinks Fort Wayne needs more of it.

"In the African-American church, one thing they've learned is they have to do more than preach and teach to re-energize the community," Hines says. Developing housing "gives the church the ability to help members of their congregations be empowered and not just spiritually," he says.

Save Our Area through Redevelopment, a 501c(3) and CCHDO created by Greater Progressive, served as the non-profit arm of a public-private partnership that developed the site of a devastating tire fire into Phoenix Manor apartments for seniors in the early part of the decade.

SOAR now manages the property and plans to submit a new project by the end of the year, according to Porter-Ross. As some churches see it, says Joe Johns, pastor of Fellowship Missionary Church in Fort Wayne, being involved in local housing development comes with taking the Christian Gospel seriously.

"For us, we're beginning to realize that (bringing) the Gospel applies to every part of a person's life, and we're beginning to think holistically," he says. "If it's good news to a person's life, it should be good news to their economic situation, their housing situation, the total person."

Fellowship Missionary, Johns says, is in the first steps of its housing work. It began when several members formed The Reclamation Project, a 501c(3), in 2003 and started work on renovating the Rialto Theater at 2616 S. Calhoun St.

The group is now expanding to develop housing for refugee and immigrant families, says Angie Harrison, the project's housing coordinator.

The organization also aided the church in acquiring an adjacent property for use as transitional housing for women and children coming out of abusive situations, she says. The Reclamation Project recently qualified as the city's CCHDO in the Packard Area Planning Alliance neighborhoods, Harrison says. The plan is to buy and renovate its first property soon and use church members as volunteer labor.

"The idea is to help rehabilitate and contribute positively to those neighborhoods, and it allows them (refugee and immigrant families) an easier access to become homeowners than they would have because they don't have a history, such as a credit history, that traditional lenders would be looking for," Harrison says.

Other city housing development groups that have grown out of church involvement include Vincent House, which was begun by the Fort Wayne-South Bend Roman Catholic Diocese but now is interfaith, and a group that grew out of Fort Wayne's Christ Temple congregation.

Vincent House has been buying dilapidated buildings and restoring them as transitional housing for the formerly homeless in the neighborhood around its shelter in the 2800 block of Holton Avenue, says Ann Helmke, executive director. It formed a Vincent House Community Housing Development Corp. in 2005 to continue developing affordable housing for the program.

The group has 22 residences, 17 of them occupied, and is working on three others, she says.

"We have a benefactor on the board (of directors) who picks them up as soon as they come on the market," she says, declining to name the patron. "We try to pick them up as cheaply as possible, and we completely renovate them, new kitchens, new baths, new roofs, new siding, everything."

Families living in the group's shelter can move into the homes when they have a job or steady income from a source such as Social Security's disability program. Residents' rent is about a third of their adjusted gross income, Helmke says.

Two families have "graduated" from the transitional housing and gone on to buy their own homes, Helmke says, "and we've changed the whole neighborhood. It's become a safer place."

Christ Temple's 501c(3) also created scattered-site transitional housing units and was used to develop Memorial Park Estates senior housing at 2024 Maumee Ave.

"We began with Memorial Park Estates in 2000," says Albert Brownlee, resource development director. "It was a vacant lot. It was owned by the church, and the plan had been initially that it would be the place where we would build our new church.

"When we considered some things with our church building project, we realized it could be better used for affordable housing there in the Memorial Park community because there was no project of that nature in that part of the city."

Memorial Park Estates, constructed with a $3.11?million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and $29,000 from the city, contains 34 one-bedroom units designed for singles or couples 62 or older.

It is operated as a 202 project of the housing department, meaning that tenants who meet adjusted gross incomes of $33,500 for singles and $38,250 for couples pay 30?percent of that in rent, according to Brownlee.

The project now has only one vacant unit, which is expected to be occupied by the end of this month. Memorial Park Estates opened in December 2005, Brownlee says, adding there's no requirement that a prospective tenant be a member of the church.

Though members may be encouraged to apply, they are not given preference, says Brownlee, himself a Christ Temple member. But the church still looks at Memorial Park Estates as a ministry.

"Definitely," Brownlee says. "From a church standpoint, it's an outgrowth of the church and an arm of ministry because it allows us to provide a service. It's not about gaining church members but providing something people need."

Another senior housing project, the 80-unit Trails Edge on East State Boulevard near the Parkview Hospital campus, was also developed by a faith-based 501c(3) group.

But that group, National Church Residences, based in Columbus, Ohio, is nationwide in scope; it's the largest non-profit developer of affordable senior housing, with 280 communities in 27 states and Puerto Rico. Trails Edge, with 80 one- and two-bedroom units in a four-story building is its first entry into the Fort Wayne market.

National Church Residences, which grew out of four Presbyterian churches in central Ohio but is now interfaith, partners with large, institutional investors such as insurance companies, says Michelle Norris, the company's vice president for acquisitions and development.

Investors get tax credits over 10 years for their investment in the projects, she explains, adding the method of financing "is growing" as the Department of Housing and Urban Development cuts back on financing projects directly.

"The tax credit program is about the only way to produce affordable housing for families seniors," she says, noting rents for those 55 and older who meet income qualifications are generally about 25?percent cheaper than market rates.

Trails Edge was a real money-saver for resident Doris Ballard, 91, who was the second person to move in last November.

"I was losing my money too fast where I was," says the International Harvester retiree who had been living at a retirement home that provided meals.

"I left my home and went into that place because it was nice and there wouldn't be anything for me to do, but it got to be more than I could chew (financially)," she says. "Now I get my meals brought in through a service, and I still don't cook."

Meanwhile, Come as You Are Community Church is moving forward with plans to develop the first phase of a market-priced housing development, South Anthony Pointe, on land near its church at 7910 S. Anthony Blvd.

It has formed Southeast Development Corp. as a 501c(3) and plans to use private financing through the out-of-state Kennedy Group, pastor Anthony Payton says.

About 20 people have been pre-qualified as prospective home buyers, he says. At least 25 new homeowners is the goal of NeighborWorks' Kingdom Builders program, which is working through Come As You Are, Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Christ Temple and New Joshua Full Gospel Church, Turner-Ridley says.

The churches will be the sites for sessions teaching financial literacy, budgeting and credit repair, all of which are necessary to qualify for and support a mortgage, she says.

The Wells Fargo Foundation has chipped in $50,000 and participating churches will raise $5,000 apiece for down-payment assistance to participants.

They can buy a home "anywhere in Fort Wayne," Turner-Ridley says. But she expects as least some will buy into the South Anthony Pointe development.

"I know the pastors partnering with us, their goal is to see as much of the folks who benefit as possible and want to live there buy into that neighborhood. They support that development in a big way," she says.

Darrell Poeppelmeyer, a former banker and Church of the Nazarene pastor who now heads Faith Based Community Resource in Fort Wayne, says housing development can be a difficult ministry road.

He has assisted several religious groups in building organizational structures, including 501c(3)s, that satisfy the government that "dollars are not being used to buy hymnbooks" yet remain true to their foundation in faith.

Sometimes, he says, "these groups are extremely weak and inexperienced. They need some tough and experienced developers to come in and make things work."

But there can be a payoff, he adds.

Christians, Poeppelmeyer says, have traditionally been very good with "inward care" - worshipping God and looking after the needs of members.

"But on what I call ‘outward care,' we sometimes fall short," he says. "This is one way to have an outward focus."

Source: Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne IN

Work on project builds faith – and new understanding

6/21/2006

Name: Kristie J. Jacobson lives in Fort Wayne with her husband of 16 years, Jeff, and their four children - Gabe, 11, twins Tate and Levi, 6, and Chloe, 4. They attend Fellowship Missionary Church, 2536 E. Tillman Road.

Back story: Jacobson grew up just outside Detroit, in what she calls the "midst of the ministry." She was born the youngest of five children. Her father served in the evangelical ministry and was executive director of Youth For Christ, and her mother was a musician who knew all the hymns.

Both graduates of Taylor University in Upland, Jacobson and her husband moved to Fort Wayne after they were married in 1990. The move was a slight change of pace for the couple, who were accustomed to city life.

But it did not take long for them to adjust and plant roots in Fort Wayne. They attended a church service at Fellowship Missionary and knew they were where they were supposed to be. Now Jacobson says she could not imagine her family living anywhere else.

In 2003, she, her husband and a small group of individuals helped create a nonprofit organization, the Reclamation Project, to restore the historic Rialto Theater at 2616 S. Calhoun St. The group wants to give the theater a place in the community again by transforming it into the Rialto World Cafe and Cultural Center. They hope the old theater will become a gathering place for local residents and Fort Wayne's growing international community.

The founding vision behind the Reclamation Project was a spiritual one, especially for Jacobson, who felt called to take her faith one step further and out into her community. She wondered if they were able to restore the theater, a diamond in the rough, how it might benefit the city around it.

Working on the project with volunteers, church groups, neighborhood associations and youth groups has brought even more clarity to Jacobson's beliefs. It has also provided her with a better understanding of some of the people who have come to Fort Wayne from other countries to start new lives.

"My heart breaks for what they have to go through," she said. "They have to ask questions like `How do I live?' `How will I find a grocery store?'"

"I see a group of people who need a lot of life assistance," she said. "I just love people and want to be able to encourage them."

Present day: Jacobson, 38, is executive director of the Reclamation Project.

"I don't look at faith as just something for Sunday mornings," she said. "Every moment of my day is touched by faith; it impacts every aspect of my life. I'm learning more to look at the world the way Christ would by finding tangible ways to live and get out and serve people."

Besides repairs at the theater, Jacobson's work includes writing grant requests, planning with construction workers, corresponding with area churches, coordinating volunteer efforts and attending meetings.

In addition to their work with the Reclamation Project, the Jacobsons are also active at Fellowship Missionary. She helps lead worship as a vocalist on the worship team, and her husband volunteers with the children's ministry.

Family time: Jacobson enjoys reading, and loves family game nights and movie nights.

Words of wisdom: Philippians 4:6-8, (as taken from The Message): "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/14868856.htm

Source: The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne IN

Board OKs grant to help convert Rialto

2/15/2006

On Wednesday, the city’s Board of Works approved a $10,000 grant for the Reclamation Project, an effort to convert the former Rialto Theater on Calhoun Street into a community center. The money, from 5th District income-tax funds, will be used for asbestos abatement, debris removal, floor replacement and work on the marquee. Tim Pape is the 5th District city councilman. Residents working on the project will turn in receipts as the work is done and then be reimbursed with the grant money.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/13830395.htm

Source: The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne IN

Rialto Reclamation Project can help mend community

2/2/2006

The community surrounding a school always has a major influence on the school itself. Just think of how the Aboite Township area affects Homestead's stereotypes, or the southeast area of Fort Wayne affects Harding's, and it is easy to understand a school takes on its community's identity. With this in mind, the reclamation of the Rialto Theater just down the street from South Side High School is a welcome project that will help improve the identity and stereotypes that surround the school and its community.

Read more by clicking on link below.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/13748228.htm

Source: The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne IN

Reprise for Rialto

1/24/2006

Inside the historic Rialto, piles of debris now fill the gutted space that once was occupied by plush theater seats.

The hum of a projector has been replaced by the pounding of sledgehammers that sends showers of dust in every direction.
This overhaul is just the latest transformation for the building at 2616 S. Calhoun St., which opened in August 1924 and survived various movie-theme trends and owners, including a stint as an adult-film theater, before closing in 1989 and sitting vacant for 14 years.

Purchased in October 2003 by a non-profit group called The Reclamation Project, the old theater is taking on a new mission as the Rialto World Cafe & Cultural Center.

As a home for community events - located in the heart of growing Asian and Hispanic neighborhoods - it will also serve as an outreach center for volunteers looking to connect with the city's international community.

The goal is for the Rialto to help the city's various communities "become more enmeshed in each other's lives" through concerts, lectures, art exhibitions and other celebrations here, says Kristie Jacobson, executive director of The Reclamation Project (www.thereclamationproject.org).

It's about figuring out, "how much can their cultures enrich our culture?" she says.

It is a fitting tribute for a building constructed by a Greek immigrant, James Heliotes, in 1923.

When the Rialto's renovation is finished in the next several years, the space will include 11,000 square feet on two floors.

The first phase involves the restoration of the adjacent Tobacco Road store; the original brick walls and terrazzo tile floor will be saved. This area initially will be used for office space, but ultimately will become a small gallery.

The next phase of construction will create a cafe and coffeehouse in the old sweet bar area. It will expand to the second floor as well, with some room for performance space.

The cafe might open to the public as early as 2008, Jacobson says, although that's not a definite deadline.

The Reclamation Project moves forward as the money comes in from grants and donations. It uses as much volunteer labor as possible to offset costs, which are projected to reach $2 million.

The front part of the building's roof was replaced last fall; the part over the theater is scheduled to be finished this spring.

A new sign is already pasted on the original Rialto marquee, which will stay.

The Rialto, sold by the Heliotes family in 1967, is believed to be the oldest city theater still standing.

The last phase of interior reconstruction will make over the original movie house, now dubbed the gathering area. A new stage will be built, since the original was demolished, and the sloping floor will be leveled to create a multipurpose room.

The ceiling dome, which avoided the water damage that mildewed much of the second-story floor, is in decent shape and probably will stay intact.

When the project is finished, the first floor will also include a kitchen, restrooms, an elevator and an area for displaying the "vignettes of nostalgia" that volunteers have unearthed so far - a chandelier, film projector, light fixtures and photos, Jacobson says.

In addition to extra cafe space, the second floor will feature offices, classrooms and a computer training area.

The training is for the new immigrants who make up the changing face of the city, Jacobson says.

Part of The Reclamation Project involves teaching immigrants English. Many of those who come here are not literate in their own language, she says.

Another part is the Circle of Friends, a group of volunteer families who "adopt" refugee families and help them adjust to American life by guiding them through the intricacies of bank accounts, housing, grocery shopping and transportation.

"The obstacles they're up against are huge," she says.

Usually, the agencies that bring immigrants here, such as Catholic Charities, can only offer short-term help to get them started, she says. This outreach program seeks to pick up the slack when that initial aid ends.

The Reclamation Project is not competing for scarce funds with other like-minded agencies, she says.

"It's not about who can raise more money ... it's about how can we make it work."

Last November, The Reclamation Project was designated a community housing development organization by the city.

"They're not only rehabilitating an important building in the community, but they're also providing needed services to our immigrant populations," says Heather Presley, the city's deputy director of community development for housing and neighborhoods.

The organization has a holistic philosophy, in that it not only helps recent immigrants find housing, but also works with them to build self-sufficiency over time, she says.

Many of the refugees coming now were rural farmers who might have spent years living in United Nations camps, Jacobson says.

When they arrive, "they're already at the bottom of the heap. They have no power in our community, no voice," she says. They need more Fort Wayne residents "going to bat for them."

That said, the Rialto will be open to everyone, not just those in the international community, she says.

The project's demolition phase has been supported by numerous volunteers, from high school students to church groups to interested neighbors. Many of them have come from Fellowship Missionary Church, 2536 E. Tillman Road, which is affiliated with the project.

Most of the volunteers ask to come back, Jacobson says, because they want to help save a piece of history and contribute to community revitalization.

The project, so far, hasn't suffered from a lack of interest. She's often seen people peeking in the windows when she drives up to the building. And whenever a work crew is there, usually on Saturday mornings, bystanders will ask to come in and look around.

All of which proves to Jacobson that The Reclamation Project is on to something, something that many in the city seem willing to support, she says.

The project is not just about reclaiming the historic Rialto, "it's about the reclaiming of lives," she says.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/living/13698407.htm

Source: Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne IN

TRP Receives Grants from Local Foundations

11/10/2005

TRP is proud to announce that it has recently received grants from the Aon Foundation/K&K Insurance (for general support), the M.E. Raker Foundation (for Circle of Friends programming), and the Eric and Mary Baade Charitable Trust (for exterior improvements to the Rialto).

Thank you to all for the trust you've placed in TRP and its mission!

This Week In Local History

9/14/2005

♦ Sept. 13, 1930: Remodeling and redecorating of the Rialto, South Calhoun Street at Pontiac Street, has been completed at a cost of several thousand dollars, it was announced today. Many new electrical fixtures have been installed to increase the beauty and variety of the lighting effects. A special effort was made to complete the work in time for the opening of the special first-run attraction, “Paramount on Parade.” The project was accomplished without cessation of the regular talkie programs. (Built in 1924, the Rialto Theatre is currently being restored by the Reclamation Project, a nonprofit organization.)

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/12625724.htm

Source: The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN

Nonprofit group Reclaims Rialto

2/15/2005

Old plaster has been pounded and chiseled free from red brick walls. Water-damaged drop ceilings have been ripped out. Office wall partitions have been removed upstairs, creating a large open space.

The Rialto Theater may not look much different on the outside. But a two-story pile of rubble and debris on the inside attests to what has been accomplished so far in the effort to reclaim the architectural gem. Once one of the city's grand neighborhood theaters, it fell on hard times in the 1970s and early 1980s, closing its career as a porn theater.
"We don't have a total on man-hours that have been donated, but it has been staggering," said Joe Johns, director of cross-cultural programming for the Reclamation Project.

The nonprofit organization began work in late 2003 to acquire the 1920s-era theater in the 2600 block of South Calhoun Street. The goal is to transform it into a cafe and cultural center serving the needs of Fort Wayne's immigrant and refugee communities.

"It will be a bridge from the old Fort Wayne community to the new Fort Wayne community," Johns said.

New immigrants and refugees can become a huge asset for the city, he said.

Most of those who have settled here in recent years are very bright and motivated to build new lives, he said. They are hard-working, honest and have the drive to open their own businesses, he said.

They also bring arts, crafts and other aspects of their native culture that can enrich the lives of people in Fort Wayne, Johns said.

"They help us understand the world a little bit better and to get outside our world," he added.

The actual bricks-and-mortar work on renovating the theater has gone a little slower than expected, however, said Kristie Jacobson, the Reclamation Project's executive director.

"Everything is so much more complicated than I thought it would be," Jacobson said.

For example, she wasn't aware so many permits would be required to restore water and sewer service to the building.

A few puddles inside the building also indicate they have an urgent problem with the roof, she said. The cost to replace the roof has been estimated at $160,000 to $170,000.

They may be able to do the work in phases, however, starting with portions over the theater lobby and office area and the adjacent Tobacco Road store.

They hope to start roof replacement this spring, Jacobson said.

On the positive side, individuals, companies, the city and foundations donated about $100,000 toward the project last year, Jacobson said.

Those donations and countless hours of volunteer labor have helped move the project along both inside and outside the Rialto building.

This spring, the Reclamation Project plans to move into the Tobacco Road storefront, Jacobson said. A small portion of the space will be used for an office. The remaining room will be used for meetings and as a gallery for displaying art and crafts made by local immigrants and refugees.

As time and money permit, the theater lobby will become a cafe where people from all parts of the world can mingle, Johns said. The theater auditorium eventually will be remodeled into a large space for meetings, cultural performances and special events.

Along with stopping by for a cup of coffee, immigrants and refugees also will be able to get help with resettlement questions and needs, Jacobson said.

"It will be a great resource when it is done," she added.

The Reclamation Project, which is collaborating with other groups assisting new immigrants, already has started two programs that could move to the Rialto when it is ready, Johns said.

A newly hired language coordinator will do more than just help new immigrants learn to speak English, Johns said. The program also emphasizes life skills and adapting to American culture.

A second program, Circle of Friends, matches a new immigrant or refugee family with 10-20 people from the Fort Wayne community. The local people serve as mentors and friends as the individual or family adjusts to life in the United States.

"What they need most is American friendships," Johns said.

The Reclamation Project foresees leaders developing within the different immigrant communities here, Johns and Jacobson said. Those leaders eventually can assume responsibility for operating the Rialto center and meeting the needs of current and future immigrants.

"I'd love to work my way out of a job," Jacobson said.

Save the theater
To learn more about the Rialto Cafe and Cultural Center or to donate to or volunteer on the project, go to www.thereclamationproject.org on the Web.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/10905645.htm

Source: The News Sentinel, Fort Wayne IN

TRP Awarded $20,000 CEDIT Grant

8/6/2004

"There are so many great projects this year to choose from, and these final choices show the optimism of our citizens, organizations and development leaders," Talarico said. "The Reclamation Project is especially exciting. A group of private citizens banding together to take on a huge task that will, in the end, bring beauty and unity to one of the city's oldest neighborhoods."

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/9318667.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

M.E. Raker Foundation awards TRP $10,000

7/23/2004

We're honored to announce that the M.E. Raker Foundation has awarded The Reclamation Project a grant of $10,000. Many thanks to M.E. Raker's Board of Directors for this vote of confidence!

Rialto asbestos limited to pipes

6/24/2004

The group working to resurrect the historic Rialto Theater recently received an answer to one of its prayers.

A recently completed study found the only asbestos in the building is contained in wrapping around heating and water pipes, said Jeff Jacobson, president of The Reclamation Project.

"It was great news," Jacobson said. "If it was embedded in the plaster, that would be a huge expense." ...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/8993147.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

Aon Foundation awards grant

6/22/2004

We're thrilled to announce that the Aon Foundation has awarded TRP a grant to advance our renovation work with the Rialto! Many thanks to the people of K&K Insurance Group and Aon that made this gift a reality.

Preservation often uphill fight - Rialto building removed from endangered list

5/19/2004

For Kristie Jacobson, executive director of the local non-profit group The Reclamation Project Inc., there's at least one time when being "left out" isn't all that bad...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/8702922.htm

Source: Journal Gazette Fort Wayne, IN

Rialto removed from ARCH endangered list

5/19/2004

In the good news category, ARCH removed the Rialto Theater from the endangered list for the first time since the list began in 1990. The nonprofit group the Reclamation Project has purchased the shuttered movie house and is beginning to restore it for use as a cultural and community center. ARCH downgraded the building to "special concern" status...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/8695733.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

Waterfield Foundation Awards Grant to TRP

5/10/2004

We're grateful to the Waterfield Foundation for their vote of confidence in TRP and our ongoing work at the Rialto. It's through great partnerships like these that we’re making progress on the renovation of this grand old theater.

Reclaiming the Rialto

2/12/2004

The city is pursuing a commendable use of public funds by using them to draw more private funding for a great southside project: renovating the old Rialto Theater in the 2600 block of South Calhoun Street...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/7937793.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

Rialto Restoration Gets Funding Boost

2/10/2004

Fort Wayne has helped jump-start fund-raising needed to restore the Rialto Theater on South Calhoun Street...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/7919634.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

TRP awarded grant

1/15/2004

TRP has been awarded a Community Development Block Grant from the City of Fort Wayne totaling $160,000 in matching funds over the next three years. This funding has been earmarked for acquisition costs, ultimately paying off the mortgage note for TRP. We are extremely thankful to Mayor Graham Richard and his gracious staff for the way in which they have embraced our vision for the future of the Rialto Theater.

Rialto group selects architect

12/23/2003

The architectural firm that restored the historic Baker Street train station downtown will guide the restoration of the Rialto Theater, a Calhoun Street landmark...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/7557411.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

New hope for a deteriorating city landmark

12/11/2003

Those of us who as children spent many happy afternoons at the Rialto Theater -- a double feature, lots of cartoons and a healthy dose of coming attractions -- owe a debt of thanks to The Reclamation Project for trying to restore the decaying Fort Wayne landmark...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/7468146.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

New life planned for historic Rialto Theater

12/10/2003

Local group hopes to restore as much of decaying theater building as possible...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/7459891.htm

Source: The News Sentinel Fort Wayne, IN

Redemption on Calhoun

12/10/2003

A non-profit group led by members of Fellowship Missionary Church has taken the first steps toward redeeming one of Fort Wayne's run-down landmarks...

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/7458206.htm

Source: Journal Gazette Fort Wayne, IN