Lebanon Rescue Mission to meet community need with Agape Safe Haven

Lebanon Rescue Mission is expanding its ability to serve women with children and seniors with a new facility planned for Lebanon city.

Mission CEO/executive director Susan Blouch and director of development Cari Daub spoke with LebTown about Agape Safe Haven. The new 25,126-square-foot facility will be situated on the former Goodman Vending property located at 1250-1310 Bittner Blvd., Lebanon.

Agape Safe Haven will feature 40 rooms, which will include staff accommodations, 12 rooms with the option of an adjoining room for large families, and 16 rooms separate from the rest of the facility for seniors.

The two-floor facility will also feature a children’s playroom, classrooms, gathering spaces, a commercial kitchen, a dining room, a gently used clothing boutique, laundry rooms, a case management and counseling space, and offices.

“We’re an organization of faith, and what we’ve seen in all of our other projects is we have a plan, and then God provides the funding in His way,” Blouch said. “So, we’re excited to see how He will fund this project.”

About two-thirds of the funding for the new facility is projected to come from grants and contributions from foundations and corporations, and about one-third is projected to come from a capital campaign made up of contributions from community members, churches, other organizations, and businesses.

Barley Snyder, Beers + Hoffman Architecture, Capital for Compassion, Chrisland Engineering, and Jonestown Bank & Trust will also assist Lebanon Rescue Mission with the expansion project.

“The plan is to break ground late first quarter 2026 and move into the new facility by early second quarter 2027,” Blouch said in a follow-up email to LebTown.

Community need

“As an organization, we’ve been talking about the need and have known that there’s a tremendous community need for safe emergency and transitional housing for women with children,” Blouch said.

For the past five-plus years, Lebanon Rescue Mission has worked to expand its services for women with children through its current facility, Agape Family Shelter, at 139 S. 9th St., Lebanon, and its current model.

At their spring meeting in 2024, Lebanon Rescue Mission’s board of directors voted on the organization’s strategic plan, which included pursuing a new facility and a new model to expand its services for women with children.

“Initially, the strategic plan was just to expand our ability to serve women with children,” Blouch said. “And then, as we continued to talk about the project, the glaring fact [was] that we currently are serving so many more seniors experiencing homelessness.”

Lebanon Rescue Mission has about 75 to 80 beds for community members experiencing homelessness, and the organization routinely sees almost one-third being used by community members over the age of 65.

Consequently, the mission shifted its conversation to the possibility of expanding its services for both women with children and seniors through a new facility.

“Over the summer last summer, we were looking for available properties still in the city. I was getting ready to present the best options to my board at our September board meeting,” Blouch said. She told LebTown that she came out of that board meeting and saw people putting up a sign at Goodman Vending that the property was for sale or lease.

“That changed everything, really. It’s still a strategic priority. It’s still women [with] children and seniors. But now the property right across the street from our current [men’s] campus is available. That’s a miracle for us,” she said.

In early October, the former Goodman Vending property, which features two plots totaling about two acres, went on the market. Lebanon Rescue Mission made an offer.

On Oct. 29, the mission signed a sales agreement, and following “some ups and downs in the offer negotiating process,” according to Blouch, the organization settled on the property on Dec. 12.

On Feb. 21, the mission submitted an application for a use variance to the city’s zoning hearing board. The former Goodman Vending property is in a light industrial commercial zoning district and requires a use variance to construct and operate Agape Safe Haven.

On March 19, the zoning hearing board reviewed the mission’s application for a use variance. With the help of almost 60 letters of support, including one unanimously approved by Lebanon County Commissioners on Feb. 6, and at least 30 supporters in attendance, the zoning hearing board approved the application.

Read More: Commissioners support Lebanon Rescue Mission’s planned expansion project

Through Agape Safe Haven, Lebanon Rescue Mission will triple its ability to serve women with children and seniors. “The bottom line is this is not an overlap in services. It’s much-needed services,” Blouch said. “And we will continue to partner with others in the community.”

“We’re really excited to be able to meet the community needs. We’re seeing an increase in need for women with children and seniors experiencing homelessness,” Daub echoed. “And we are always welcome to offer tours to anyone who’d be interested in learning more about our ministry.”

On Thursday, May 1, Lebanon Rescue Mission will host an open house, drop-in style, from 4 to 6 p.m., during which community members can view the existing building and property at 1250-1310 Bittner Blvd., as well as the floor and land plans.

“I think it’s impressive what will be in just under two years,” Blouch said.