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Couple champions the poor through a variety of ministries
Determined to use these buildings to serve the needs of the community, the Champions formed the umbrella organization Community Touch, and went straight to the source, knocking on the doors of residents, service organizations, and local officials to find answers.
"We wanted to know what the greatest need in the community was," he said.
The Champions were surprised by the feedback: hunger was the most prevalent problem affecting people in Fauquier County.
Accordingly, in 2001, the Champions converted an old house on that property into Clara's Faith House Food Pantry, named after Felicia's mother, Clara Lee Venson, who oversees the church.
Since it's opening in November 2001, the Champions have fed more than 4,000 area people through its pantry, nearly half of them children. The food is sold and donated by the Capital Area Food Bank, and is also solicited from supermarkets, wholesalers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food processors, and local farmers.
This Saturday, Oct. 6, Community Touch hopes to raise money for its pantry through the Feed Fauquier Benefit Concert at Brumfield Elementary School in Warrenton. The concert will feature local musician Marie Miller who has just signed a recording contract with Curb Records (for more details, see Friday's Fauquier Weekend). Tickets are $10, free for children 12 and under. All proceeds will go to the pantry, which is open Saturdays from 10 a.m.-noon.
The opening of the food pantry brought an additional need to the Champions' attention.
"Many of the people who were coming to the food pantry were also homeless," Felicia said.
Consequently, in 2003, the Champions opened Victory Transitional Housing on the same property, which offers people who would otherwise be homeless a temporary place to live, in addition to other services to help them get on their feet.
The buildings previously used for the Victory Drug Center now house 40 residents at a time. Individuals and families can live there for up to a year.
Because adults must have a job and a car in order to be eligible for placement, Victory Transitional housing is often the
second step in putting lives in order.
"We're the bridge between the Fauquier Family Shelter, which houses people for a maximum of
30 days, and Vint Hill Transitional Housing, which houses people for up to two years," Tyronne said.
Felicia, who acts as director of the shelter, carries out the initial intake process. She then turns people over to a caseworker who assesses their mental needs and develops a treatment plan to make them
successful by the end of their one-year stay.
In addition to providing living quarters, the program works with a number of local groups and organizations to help residents obtain GEDs, apply for jobs, and learn how to manage their finances. Children also receive individual attention.
"When our kids have problems in school, Jackie Sellers, who works with Fauquier County
Student Services, coordinates a tutor to come out here," said Felicia.
Counseling is also available to children who need it.
Felicia will be the first to tell people that living at Victory
Transitional Housing isn't just about free housing. "I tell people from the start that this is a program," said Felicia. "There are curfews and rules. People must save money while they are here, and show stability and reliability."
Those who arrive at Victory Transitional Housing include everyone from women with incarcerated husbands, single-parent fathers, people battling drug addictions or mental illness, families with repeated cycles of homelessness, and those who simply haven't managed their finances adequately.
However, the last straw is often eviction.
"Maybe they could no longer afford their rent because they lost their job, or they had a sick child, and now they are struggling to maintain their place," said Felicia.
"The biggest challenge we have is changing the mentality of the
individual," Tyronne added. "Many people are accustomed to
relying on someone else, to being dependent on others. We want them to be independent, self-sufficient go-getters."
The Champions also established Noah's Ark at the same location in 2004, a three-story building resembling an ark, from which they provide donated clothing and household goods to people in need, free of charge, on the first, third and fourth Saturdays of each month.
With only five employees on staff, Community Touch relies primarily on volunteers, of which they have about 50, many
of whom belong to the True Deliverance Church. But others have gotten involved as well.
"Cornerstone [Baptist] Church [of Warrenton] has sent out volunteers like clockwork," Tyronne said. "They've taken care of the yard, painted buildings, built a bridge. We're very grateful."
Community Touch also relies solely on donations, most of which it receives from True Deliverance Church.
"True Deliverance Church is our backbone," he added. "That's where we receive a lot of our donations. It's the catalyst that has helped us get to where we are now.
"Everything we do is because of God," Tyronne said. "There are
no gains for us in this at all, but to see people succeed."
"Both of us used to work in the corporate world," Felicia noted, "but we gave it up to do what's in our hearts."
Community Touch will have a donation booth set up at Great Meadows during the International Gold Cup on Oct. 20 at 9 a.m., and will also be hosting an
auction at the Warrenton Armory on Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.
For more information, visit www.communitytouchinc.org, or call (540) 439-4917.
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