For Floyd Hobson III, the Brothers’ Keeper homeless shelter provided more than a roof over his head.
It gave him a road map to weather the rough times and gain self-reliance.
On Tuesday, Gary officials and local ministers celebrated a new chapter for the 40-year-old shelter.
Surrounded by twin beds inside the men’s shelter, Mayor Eddie Melton announced a $3 million investment to build a new shelter a block away in the 2100 block of Washington Street. The popular community garden, next to the existing shelter at 2120 Broadway, will be relocated by the new building, Melton said.
Initially, Melton said the city planned to use its remaining $700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding toward renovations at the facility.
After an assessment, Melton said a new facility that increases shelter beds from 25 to 50 emerged as the best option. Around Christmas, Melton said the city witnessed an increase of people sleeping on the streets and a lack of shelter space.
The city coupled its ARPA funding with $2.4 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Block Grant money toward a new shelter building. To meet the grant demands, the new shelter needs to open by the end of October.
City Council President Linda Barnes-Caldwell, D-5th, authored the ordinance, expected to be approved Tuesday, that spells out the funding framework for the project.
“This will be a safe, dignified residential and resource center… a place of restoration, stability, and opportunity,” said Melton, who wore a black and white Brothers’ Keeper sweatshirt.
Construction on the modular building is expected to begin in June.
“Hard times do not discriminate, folks. I think we know that each and every one of us go through job loss, through illness, through grief, through addiction, and through bad breaks. We can find ourselves struggling. And when that happens, a strong city should be there to support you,” Melton said.
He added the city hopes to raise an additional $1 million to furnish the shelter, provide a medical/wellness space, support job training efforts and enhance security, and build a landscaped courtyard.
Donations can be targeted for specific items such as “sponsoring a bed,” or funding the wellness area.
“For nearly 40 years, we have served this city with faith and limited resources,” said Isaac Mootye, Brothers’ Keeper executive director.
“This new facility changes everything. It gives us the tools to not just house men, but to heal them. We are asking the community to join us in this final push to build the facility our residents deserve.”
Hobson, 39, said he graduated from West Side High School and received a degree in information technology from Indiana University in Bloomington.
He turned to Brothers’ Keeper in 2022 when his job prospects dried up after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I couldn’t really find a job so I ended up falling into homelessness when I came back here to Gary,” he said.
“They have a nice system of, like, you know, helping individuals who come from a state (of) homelessness,” Hobson said.
“They are very adamant about making sure that you find employment, and you know, have something constructive to do with your time,” he said.
Hobson now has his own apartment, although he’s existing on part-time jobs and disability benefits while he’s still searching for full-time employment.
Pastor Mike Dotson, of the Washington Street Church of God, said the church purchased the shelter property in 1986 from Levin Tire.
Dotson credited the shelter’s inception to Rev. James Anderson, who founded it after living among homeless people on the streets of Chicago as part of a project when he attended the Moody Bible Institute.
He said Anderson launched the shelter with slightly more than $17,000.
Mary Edwards served as director for 32 years before Mootye.
As the press conference neared its end, the shelter residents sat in an adjoining room sipping coffee and drinking water. One man who sat alone declined to talk to a reporter.
Meanwhile, Melton pointed to a verse in Genesis which asks: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
He responded:
“Today, we are going to answer that question. Yes, I am my brother’s keeper.”
To learn more or donate, see: https://legacyfdn.org/blog/2026/01/12/greater-gary-fund/
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
