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Amen shelter owner sees a 'brighter tomorrow'

Tribune photo by KATHY STEELE

Scott Wheeler, senior mitigator for Suncoast Mitigation Services, and Susan Mays, owner of Amen Outreach Ministry Shelter, stand in the shelter's renovated kitchen. Wheeler's company helped Mays restructure a mortgage to avoid foreclosure.

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By KATHY STEELE

ksteele@tampatrib.com

Published: July 1, 2009

SULPHUR SPRINGS - A financially troubled emergency shelter for women and children had a few prayers answered, its owner said, including a restructured mortgage to keep the shelter open.

In January, Amen Outreach Ministry Shelter faced foreclosure and needed repairs to correct building violations cited by city code enforcement officials. Owner Susan Mays, who had been laid off from her job, was struggling to modify her mortgage and keep the shelter open.

"I was at a breaking point and didn't know what to do anymore," said Mays, who was born homeless. At age 3, a Tampa minister and his wife took Mays in as their foster child.

It became her dream to open an emergency shelter. She bought the Sulphur Springs house on Sitka Street, where drug dealers once plied their illegal trade. Mays cleared away weeds and cleaned the house, largely relying on her salary as an insurance adjuster to pay the shelter's bills. She lost her job in August.

News reports about the shelter's plight prompted senior mitigator Scott Wheeler of Suncoast Mitigation Services to offer free help.

"We didn't think twice about it," said Wheeler. "You've got to give something back to the community."

Within the next 30 days, Wheeler and Mays hope to have a restructured mortgage at a lower interest rate and up to a $400 reduction in monthly payments. Wheeler said the loan agency, GMAC, is discussing a grant for the shelter.

St. Augustine-based foreclosure investor Jeff Kaller of Crusade to Save America donated $4,000 as a share of a negotiated lump sum payment on the loan. More money is needed, Wheeler said.

"What we're trying to do is build a buffer," he said. GMAC "seems to have bought into that very well."

Other in-kind donations also have been made to the shelter including beds, sofas, dressers and night stands from Rooms To Go. WTVT, Channel 13 television and its community-based Careforce program, in partnership with non-profit Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, recruited area businesses and dozens of volunteers to paint, plant landscaping and install new bathroom fixtures, kitchen counter tops and a stove. The house also was rewired and tented for termites.

"Families can come here and be comfortable," Mays said. "I feel like someone finally listened to the heart, not what was on paper."

The shelter closed for about six weeks while repairs were completed. Hillsborough Kids and Mental Health Care are among agencies that refer clients to Amen Outreach. Sometimes Metropolitan Ministries refers overflow clients from its Uplift-U progam to the county's Homeless Recovery program, which then places some with Amen Outreach.

Mays is still looking for work but recently had job interviews.

"I feel it will be a brighter tomorrow," she said.

Donations may be made in the name of Amen Outreach Ministry Shelter at any Regions Bank. The shelter can be reached at (813) 598-4325.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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