On Tuesday, Senator Coons joined Jeanine Kleinmo, Chairman of the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing (DIMH), for a walking tour of the mission’s new Bagley Hall location, as well as the original Forrest Ave facility. As a part of the visit, Senator Coons donated boxes of toiletries and supplies to help support those staying at DIMH facilities.
The new Walter Bagley Hall location, named after DIMH’s founding treasurer, functions as transitional housing facility for men. This facility expands the overall capacity to include thirty more beds.
DIMH strives to make life outside of a homeless shelter possible for these men, by providing a safe place to stay while providing its residents with the tools they need to get back on their feet. DIMH’s daytime Resource Center functions as a job counseling center. Here residents learn basic computer skills, how to write and build a resume, and interview and job prep.
DIMH began in 2008 as a homeless shelter for men, operating primarily during the winter. The scope of the facility was expanded in May of 2008 to provide year-round housing. The program began as an informal collaboration between community churches, and it later evolved to include a permanent shelter in 2010.
The mission currently can care for 80 men daily, and the Resource Center caters to 250 men on a weekly basis. The program has sheltered more than 1,500 men since it opened, and with the addition of Walter Bagley Hall DIMH hopes to see these numbers grow.