8/5/14 Caring Station to close Aug. 29

  • By Nick Sabo
  • August 5, 2014
  • 387
                        
SUMMARY: Day care closes after 20 years; has become financially "untenable" for local church to maintain, pastor says. Despite the best efforts of church, county and community, The Caring Station will close Aug. 29. Pastor Larry Hasemeyer said Monday Aug. 4 that the childcare facility can no longer operate as a ministry of his church, Gateway Fellowship. “We’re just not in a position where we can do that any longer,” Hasemeyer said. “I don’t think we can be asked to do anymore and go into debt. It’s just not fair to my congregation.” The Caring Station would have celebrated its twentieth anniversary in November, Hasemeyer said. The mission’s purpose was to provide affordable day care to county residents. Last month, Hasemeyer announced that the Caring Station was probably not going to remain open, citing a number of factors. A group of parents and staff made a push to keep The Caring Station open, including a gofundme.com page asking for donations. Holmes County Commissioner Joe Miller and Hasemeyer had a one-on-one discussion about the issue, to see if there was anything the county could do to help. After 20 years of providing the ministry, however, the situation has become “untenable”, Hasemeyer said. The Caring Station is housed in the former county children’s home, which is owned by the commissioners. The commissioners did not charge Gateway rent for use of the building, but Gateway had to pay utilities. Hasemeyer said the reason The Caring Station is closing is financial. A number of factors contributed to the financial strain, Hasemeyer said, including the cost of operations, a decline in clients and other associated costs. Hasemeyer said that Gateway has several ministries, all of which are self-sustaining. The Caring Station has gone past that point, Hasemeyer said, and keeping the ministry going might have an effect on the church’s ability to keep others going, such as the Love Center food pantry and a free clinic. The Gateway Fellowship congregation has subsidized The Caring Station from time to time, Hasemeyer said, and has contributed “more than $250,000 over the last 12 to 15 years”. “I want to stress that each of our ministries is on their own separate budgets. One ministry does not effect the others,” Hasemeyer said. “We are not going down. It would be unfair to take from other ministries to” to keep The Caring Station open, Hasemeyer said. Hasemeyer said The Caring Station building is in good shape and is currently licensed as a day care facility. Hasemeyer said he would be willing to help anyone who is interested in reopening a day care there, a sentiment echoed by the commissioners. And re-open it may. Miller said he has been approached by at least one individual who is interested in a privately-run day care. Both commissioners and Hasemeyer said they further have heard “rumors” that a solution is in the works. Hasemeyer said that rumors are not enough to keep Gateway from shutting down operations. Hasemeyer stressed that the decision to close The Caring Station is no one’s fault. “It’s my understanding that day cares all over the state are closing down,” Hasemeyer said. “There has to be an infrastructure of support...it is more than one church can do.”


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