By Kimberly Gasuras

A local organization that has been assisting Bucyrus residents since 2015 expanded to a county-wide organization Jan. 1.

BORN (Bucyrus Outreach and Restoration Network) is the brainchild of the Bucyrus Ministerial Association and Mary Platt, who also applied and received the organizations non-profit 501-C status, created the name.

“About six months after the group was formed, I began volunteering and later was hired to be the director of BORN,” BORN executive director Eliza Cole said.

Cole said the group provides assistance for residents across the county including financial assistance, networking, spiritual mentoring and educational assistance.

“We believe in giving people a hand-up, not a hand-out,” Cole said.

Cole said people coming to BORN for assistance will be assessed to determine was barriers are that led them to need help in the first place.

“For instance, if someone is homeless and it is because they do not have a job, we require them to sign-up with Crawford Works to assist them in securing employment. If someone needs help with a utility bill this month, we do not want them to need help again next month,” Cole said. “It is our goal to assist them in removing those obstacles and issues that got them to this point.”

RESOURCES OFFERED:

  • Financial Assistance — Help with utility bills, rent, house payments, temporary housing, other financial emergencies
  • Educational — GED classes, twelve-step program, budgeting, marriage, parenting, workforce readiness
  • Spiritual — Mentoring
  • Networking — With local churches, agencies, and individuals

SOURCE: BORN

Each client will benefit from one-on-one interaction with caring volunteers.

Cole said BORN works closely with local law enforcement to secure housing for people that have become homeless.

“We are averaging about 100 to 110 people per year that we assist with housing due to homelessness,” Cole said.

The group is funded through donations.

“We are a Christian non-profit organization and do not receive government funding. Churches that are members of BORN pledge a certain amount of money each month and now that we are county-wide, new members are signing on to help,” Cole said.

The larger goal of BORN is to one day open a Hope Center.

“Our county is in need of a large shelter that can house men, women and children,” Cole said. “When the recent tornados occurred in Crawford County, we had several families without homes and the Red Cross could only provide shelter for about two weeks. As a county, we are not prepared to handle a disaster like that.”

Cole said BORN is working with county and city officials to open a shelter.

For people in need of assistance, Cole said they could call to make an appointment at the BORN Paetznick Center located at 222 E. Rensselaer St., Bucyrus.

“We use the building rent-free,” Cole said. “It is the former parsonage of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, which is one of BORN’s members. It was named in honor of Rev. Pat Paetznick of St. Paul’s.”

Cole said she is excited about an upcoming event that BORN is sponsoring.

“We are hosting a Women’s Conference that will equip women to live out their calling by creating tools and resources for the local church and the women they serve,” said Cole.

The event is Feb. 9 from 6-9 p.m. and Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets are $10 each and some scholarships are available.

“We will not turn any woman away,” Cole said.

For more information about the event, visit www.facebook.com/events/122856021763428.

For more information about BORN, visit their website at www.bucyrusborn.com/home, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bucyrusborn, or call 419-557-4550.

The office is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday and Friday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday.