4:34 looks to raise the roof for new facility

4:34 Ministries has launched a Raise the Roof campaign in hopes of building a new dwelling for people who need temporary housing while they get back on their feet.
‘Did you know you can’t get a job if you don’t have an address?’ Pastor Robert Pryor asked those attending a fund-raising dinner hosted by 4:34 Ministries last month at Heidelberg United Methodist Church southwest of Corydon, where Pryor is the pastor.
He went on to say that someone who is unemployed can’t afford to rent or buy a home, which would provide them with an address.
Pryor, who is the CEO and board chair of 4:34 Ministries, told how the house got its start in 2016 following a phone call from a Harrison County school principal about a woman enrolling her 4-year-old daughter in preschool; however, the woman didn’t have an address as the two were living in her car.
‘We were able to get the mother and daughter into a hotel,’ where they lived about three weeks until the woman was able to get a job, Pryor said.
Since then, 4:34 Ministries, which oversees the Macy House, also has provided assistance to people from the neighboring counties of Crawford, Floyd and, on the other side of the Ohio River, Meade.
‘The No. 1 thing we went to give a person who comes through the door of Macy House is their dignity,’ Pryor said. ‘It doesn’t take a lot to steal one’s dignity.’
Charles (Chuck) Clifton spoke at the fund-raiser dinner about how he was assisted at Macy House after he ‘found himself homeless’ in March 2017.
‘Life doesn’t always turn out the way we planned,’ he said.
Clifton was going through a divorce after about 23 years of marriage and was working 70-plus hours a week as an over-the-road truck driver. He had a sleeper cab, which became his home.
Diagnosed earlier with a chemical imbalance, he had taken medication for years. But, during his transition through the divorce, Clifton quit taking his prescription and was getting very little sleep.
‘Pretty soon, it’s going to catch up with you,’ he said.
What he called ‘a misunderstanding’ with a business employee where he was making a delivery nearly landed him in jail. However, the police who responded to the call took Clifton to Harrison County Hospital. Clifton, however, left HCH on his own and later learned there was a warrant for him. After contacting authorities, he again was taken to the hospital; this time he stayed for 10 days.
‘I lost my job,’ Clifton said. ‘My boss said I had quit but I don’t remember that.’
After his release, with nowhere to live, he went out of state to visit relatives. When Clifton returned, he was told about 4:34 Ministries and the Macy House.
‘There wasn’t a room but they offered to let me sleep on the couch,’ Clifton said. ‘It’s a very strange feeling not having a place to live.’
Clifton slept on a couch at Macy House, which can assist up to six families, until a room became available. He stayed there about three months ‘without any kind of income,’ he said. ‘The stress was just eating me up.’
Clifton credits Tony Myers, who serves as treasurer of 4:34 Ministries, with helping him get his life straightened out.
‘He was always there and bent over backwards for me,’ he said. ‘I’m so thankful this ministry was already in place when I needed it. No one is invincible. We can’t see tomorrow. We can have it one day and the next day it all be gone.’
Myers said the Macy House is not a homeless facility that takes in people whether they want help or not; it’s for those who may have had a bad month or two or have gotten behind financially and need aid ‘to get them over that hump.’
Macy House doesn’t just assist single people; it also provides housing for families.
The new two-story structure will be able to assist about 50 people at a time who are in need of a hand up.
‘There will be paid staff helping these people,’ Myers said.
Those residing at the Macy House have to follow certain rules and are welcome to participate in any of its programs, including life-skills training and spiritual counseling.
Instead of leasing the Macy House, 4:34 Ministries is in the process of purchasing the limestone structure located along Wyandotte Avenue in Corydon.
‘I know this community,’ said Pryor, who is a graduate of Corydon Central High School. ‘I know this is going to happen.’
4:34 Ministries board members besides Pryor and Myers are the Rev. Ryan Stroud, vice chair; Betty Sieberns, secretary; Mike Kurz, member at large; Bob Demaree, community engagement/media; and Dawn Glover Cash, capital campaigns. Macy House coordinator is Michael Pryor.
Anyone interested in providing financial assistance to the Macy House can send a donation to 4:34 Ministries, P.O. Box 3072, Corydon, IN 47112.
Rob Pryor encouraged everyone to ‘like’ 4:34 Ministries’ Facebook page and to visit its website www. 434ministries.org.
For more information, call 812-225-5566 or contact any board member.