The Francis W. Davidson Homeless Shelter will continue to provide assistance to those most in need in Meridian with funds from a new endowment through the Community Foundation of East Mississippi.

Presenting the funds Monday, CFEM Executive Director Christin Waters said her organization was glad to have the new endowment to support the homeless shelter and its programs in Meridian and Lauderdale County.

“We are excited at the Community Foundation of East Mississippi to have a new endowment that supports the Francis W. Davidson Homeless shelter,” she said. “This is a designated fund that is able to support the operations of the shelter and help with any needs that they might seek.”

Ron Collier, executive director of Multi-County Community service Agency, which operates the shelter, said the creation of the endowment, and the funds it provided Monday and will provide in future years, will give the shelter more flexibility in its programs and operations.

“It allows us to have a little bit more leverage in some of the services that we will be able to offer our program participants because for them, this is home,” he said.

Having funding to help meet the needs of those in the shelter also allows participants to save more of their money and reach self sufficiency sooner, Collier said.

“I want to thank Christin. I want to thank the East Mississippi community foundation and the person who had the great insight to actually endow funds that would allow the Francis W. Davidson Center for Homelessness to exist long past my tenure here,” he said.

Currently at the shelter, Collier said, a large renovation project is underway to bring the building, now more than 60 years old, up to standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Doorways are being widened, ramps are being added, showers are being remodeled, along with other improvements, to allow the shelter to better serve the community.

For more information about the homeless shelter endowment or other charitable funds set up through the Community Foundation of East Mississippi, visit cfem.org.