Mercy Cross Center opens as first part of transitional housing plan in Biloxi

Last summer, Back Bay Mission announced its intention to work alongside Catholic Charities to create a tiny community on the Mercy Cross property to transition people out of homelessness.

Well, we are finally starting to see multiple agencies across the coast take that first big leap.

“We had eight people die of heat prostration, and that really touched my heart, and I thought ‘I gotta move’,” said Biloxi Diocese Bishop Louis Kihneman. “We gotta move as a community and a society.”

What started as a dream for the Biloxi Bishop, Louis Kihneman, is finally a reality. The old Mercy Cross High School Gym is officially Mercy Cross Center, the first multi-agency center for people experiencing homelessness in the area.

“It is not a permanent shelter, and it’s not a permanent home for the folks that are neediest,” Kihneman said. “We want to be able to minister to them and help them to find themselves in society again and to be able to move into housing, and if possible, move into work. We have 44-45 people here right now. We think we can get 80 to 90 percent of those folks off the street.”

The day center brings resources from across the coast to one place.

People will be able to access their meals and showers, but they will also receive clothes and haircuts, mental health counseling, and job training.

Eileen Skaiens, a volunteer cook with Loaves and Fishes, hopes others will see the value the center can have in ending homelessness in Biloxi.

“The bulk of them.. they want to be back in an apartment. They want a roof over their heads. They want to be out of the cold and the heat, and they want to be able to prepare their own meals, so it’s really a worthwhile cause,” Skaiens said. “So much of our society is one paycheck away from being homeless themselves. So, be part of the solution, don’t just be part of the criticism.”

This is only the beginning. Catholic Charities is planning to expand its resources even more, and Back Bay Mission will be providing transitional housing.

Mercy Cross Center needs volunteers, item donations, and financial donations. Visit this website for more information on how to get involved.