Dear friends of the Urban Mission,

It doesn’t get much better than this... seeing a family walk into a fully furnished apartment and hearing them say, “Wow! So much love and care went into making this place special.” While it sounds like this could be an episode of “Extreme Makeover,” it was actually something that just happened last Friday at the Urban Mission as we welcomed a family into their temporary residence at our newly renovated Hutton House family shelter.

Our goal? To create a space that was safe and welcoming - a reminder to our homeless families going through a difficult time that there is a community of support that loves them and is committed to their well-being.

I share this story with you as YOU played a role in helping this family find a place of “sanctuary.” Financial donations as well as donations of “things” - appliances, furnishings and household products, all contribute to the success of our shelter ministry by helping families attend to their most basic needs during their time of need.

At the Urban Mission, donations are like everyday miracles to us! They come at just the right time. They answer spoken (and sometimes unspoken) prayers. They are unmerited, but so appreciated, and we are humbled each time an envelope arrives at our door, or an item is dropped off at our donation center.

The life cycle of a donation is a wonderful thing to track at the Urban Mission. Donations come in and are sorted through, then shared throughout our ministry sites, and finally given new life by going right back out to the community.

In the case of outfitting our Hutton House apartment, our team of staff and volunteers carefully curated donations from our thrift store and our warehouse. Financial donations helped us purchase a few new items at local businesses to ensure our family had everything they need to start again. The end result: a family experiencing a tangible demonstration of God’s love, care and concern for them.

Thank you for being a part of their healing story! Enjoy the pictures below of the transformation of the space!

-Rev. Ashley Steele

Executive Director

Applications for our J.O.S.H.U.A. Home repair Assistance Program are available now at the Urban Mission’s Main Office. The J.O.S.H.U.A. Program assists low-income homeowners in making repairs free of charge because of volunteer labor. To qualify, applicants must be an active member of the Urban Mission’s food pantry, own their home and be income eligible.

For more information, please contact Monica Miller at mmiller@urbanmission.org or call 740.282.8010. Applications will close on April 12th.

March is always an exciting month at Urban Thrift as we receive a lot of ‘spring cleaning’ donations. As you do your spring cleaning this year, we encourage you to consider donating your new or gently used items to Urban Thrift.

Here are some helpful tips for when you donate to Urban Thrift:

• Make sure items are clean.
• Clothing should be in a bag or boxed and separated from other donations.
• Items should be working and in good condition.
• Bedding and lines are stain-free and there are no holes, rips, or tears.
• Furniture is in good condition, not broken or damaged.

We’re also excited to share that Urban Thrift played an essential role in supporting our shelter ministry by outfitting our newly renovated Hutton House family shelter apartment with donated items. It is because of donations like yours that we are able to serve our community in a multitude of ways.

God is so good! As you’ve already read, just last month the Urban Mission re-opened the doors to our Hutton House family shelter. If you’ve not heard of the Hutton House before, it is an emergency shelter specifically for families, that the Urban Mission has owned and operated for more than 30 years. What’s unique about Hutton House is that it is divided up into six small apartments.

The apartments are older, and as you can imagine, all need updated. This past year, two of the apartments were renovated and given new life thanks to the City of Steubenville and their Community Development Block Grant funds, Mike Thompson (our architect), and Rocco Cionni (our contractor).

Since then, our staff and interns have been busy preparing each room – filling them with furniture and useful items to create spaces that are safe, welcoming, and full of love! We are happy to share that most of the items used to furnish the apartment were donated by community members and organizations, or sourced through our own, Urban Thrift!



There is still more work to do on the other 4 apartments, so if you’d like to help us in the transformation of these spaces, we’re always looking for handy men and women, and also those who like to decorate and make spaces beautiful!

Olivia Garcia

Hello, my name is Olivia Garcia, and I am interning at Urban Mission until early May. I am majoring in social work and minoring in psychology and sociology. I am in my senior year and will graduate in May before moving back to Michigan where I hope to begin a career working with children.

Growing up I used to volunteer with my mom at an organization that offered similar services as Urban Mission and because of this I have been looking forward to this opportunity.

I look forward to the skills I will learn in the next few months and the ways I will be able to apply these skills in my future. In the past two months I have enjoyed being able to learn more about the services that Urban Mission provides and what it takes for these services to continue serving the community.



So far, I have been able to see the importance of care, community, and communication and its role in effectively serving others. Thank you to Urban Mission and its guests in advance for giving me this learning opportunity.

Juliana Davidson

Hello everyone! My name is Juliana Davidson, and I am a senior in college studying social work with a minor in sociology at Franciscan University. I am graduating this May and will be moving back home to Arizona with my family.

I am an intern here at Urban Mission and I am honored and super excited to have this wonderful opportunity to create a safe place of “Sanctuary”, serve and share God’s love with you and all those we encounter.

If you see me, please do not hesitate to talk with me or chat about anything that is on your heart or on your mind.

Interested in volunteering? We invite you to attend one of our orientations for prospective volunteers this month. Our March orientations will be held at 1pm on Friday, March 1st and at 1pm on Friday, March 15th. All orientations will be held at the Urban Mission’s main office, located at 311 North 6th Street. To reserve your seat, please email Cynthia Lytle at clytle@urbanmission.org.

As we begin a new year, have you ever considered supporting the Urban Mission with a recurring monthly donation? It’s easy to set up! You can choose to do so online through our website, or through your bank. As a monthly donor, we’ll keep you informed on what’s happening at the Urban Mission and how your gift is making a difference each and every month.

To set up your monthly donation, we invite you to visit: www.urbanmission.org and click on “Donate.” You can also click here, and you will be directed to our online giving platform. You'll be presented with the option to donate Monthly and choose your amount.

Whether you donate $5 or $50, supporting the Urban Mission on a monthly basis is a great way to stay connected to our work and make a tremendous impact!