HASTINGS — Crossroads Mission Avenue is celebrating 40 years of service in Hastings and the Chamber of Commerce was on hand Thursday, Aug. 17 to help mark the occasion.
“Crossroads Mission Avenue was established in 1983 with a vision to serve the hungry and needy as they sought assistance,” according to the Crossroads website, “What started out as a soup kitchen serving one meal a day with only one bed, has evolved into a state-of-the-art facility.”
Crossroads is a Christian non-profit that provides housing, job training and support to enable homeless people to become self-sufficient. It was launched 39 years ago in Hastings. It expanded to Kearney in 2012 and to Grand Island in 2018.
“This is a celebration of the work that started…and has grown from a few beds to 225 beds and services in the region,” said Executive Director Daniel Buller.
Members of the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce and Hastings Connectors were on hand to help Crossroads celebrate 40 years in the community.
Chamber President Mikki Shafer said, “Its amazing anytime you have an organization that can help our community, its really good to celebrate (Crossroads) and bring that awareness back to the community.”
Buller told the Chamber members that there were 76 people staying at the Hastings facility on Thursday.
He said there are six living facilities and five thrift stores spread across central Nebraska.
Buller also took time to thank the Chamber for their help getting the word out about Crossroads services.
After the presentation of a plaque to Crossroads, the Crossroads, Connectors and Chamber members took time to introduce themselves and ask questions.
When asked if the City of Hastings has been a good partner over the years, Buller said, “We have had a long-standing relationship with them and the city has been involved through good times and bad.”
Buller added from his perspective as director he said he is very grateful for what the city has done for Crossroads.
Questioned about what the situation would be like without Crossroads services in the community, Buller said the situation would be difficult, with more homeless people on the streets without options.
“This is a critical service we provide,” he said.
In 2021, 947 individuals stayed at a Crossroads facility, 127,845 meals were served, there were an average number of 130 guests per day and 42,615 nights of stay were provided, per Crossroads website.
Buller said over the years they have been able to see where the needs are in surrounding counties.
For instance, when they opened in Hastings, they were seeing Hall County residents. When they opened in Grand Island, they aided Buffalo County residents and now their Kearney facility, opened in 2012, has been aiding Dawson County residents.
Crossroads is looking to expand further west into Lexington, but the effort has not been without its difficulties.
Crossroads purchased the former Love in Action building with the intention to convert it into a shelter and transitional living facility, but the more time spent in Lexington, the larger the homeless issue was found to be.
The former Love in Action site was turned into a thrift store to help raise funds, while Crossroads secured a purchase agreement for the former Plum Creek Care Center.
The Plum Creek Care Center facility has sat empty since October 2022, after Lantis Enterprises announced the closure.
However, the former nursing home is located just across the street from Lexington High School and the Lexington school board voted to recommend to the City of Lexington that the conditional use permit to open shelter be denied.
Many Lexington residents were of the same opinion and the Planning Commission voted to recommend denial to the city council, Crossroads did not continue the process of seeking the permit.
When asked about their continued efforts in Lexington, Buller said they have returned to the drawing board.
Buller said they want to pursue an appropriate facility in the community and don’t plan to give up trying to answer the needs of the homeless in central Nebraska.