File Photo | SubmittedItems are donated to Lowndes Associated Ministries to People in February 2017. It is currently being utilized as a breeding house for tilapia. 

VALDOSTA – In its 35 years, Lowndes Associated Ministries to People has seen quite a few changes.

LAMP will observe its anniversary in early November.

For this year, the event replaces the traditional Homeless for a Night gathering LAMP usually hosts in November.

Yurshema Flanders, interim shelter director, said the agency has grown tremendously since its inception. 

The homeless shelter was established Sept. 6, 1984, and was formed by a group of churches with the mission to assist the community.

LAMP’s purpose was to centralize the financial aid the churches offered, which was largely used for utilities at the time.

Administrative offices were initially off-site at the Leila Ellis building on North Lee Street.

“The building, formerly an elementary school, will house expanded offices for Lowndes Associated Ministries to People — which currently utilizes a smaller space on the property — an adult health promotion clinic geared primarily toward persons with HIV or AIDS and two multipurpose rooms,” reads a December 2005 The Valdosta Daily Times report.

“Now we’re looking at part of (the building) as a social service area that is centrally located. (In the past) because we had no transportation, this area was a centralized location to serve the community. LAMP has been here some time. They know the needs. Now we can try to address those needs and provide the services,” the report quotes Lowndes County Commissioner Joyce Evans.

After some time, LAMP chose to merge the administrative offices into the location of its homeless shelter on Charlton Street.

“We have picked up several different programs since then,” Flanders said.

While the organization no longer pays for utilities, it will help with rent and utility deposits solely for homeless clients moving into their new homes through its Rapid Re-Housing program.

Coordinator Tyrese Sherman leads LAMP’s street-outreach program, which searches for homeless people who are sleeping on the streets or holding signs.

Residents who enter the shelter receive aid with applying for government assistance, finding a job, finding transportation, preparing for interviews, finding a home and more.

House supervisors rotate shifts.

LAMP houses single men, single women and families from nine counties, including Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Lanier, Thomas, Tift and Lowndes.

It has room for up to 65 people.

Flanders said the shelter’s clients have increased to a point where some residents must be turned away when the shelter is full.

“When that happens, we reach out to other shelters to try to get them at other locations or we try to find a church that would sponsor them for a few days until they can get into the shelter,” she said.

The agency regularly hosts fundraising events, including its Changing Lives dinner, and accepts in-kind donations of all types. Volunteers are also accepted to host various classes for shelter residents. 

An addition to the shelter came in 2017 when the Valdosta State University Enactus program donated supplies for a greenhouse made out of donated soda bottles. 

VSU students are currently using the greenhouse to breed tilapia for residents to eat. They plan to extend the greenhouse and train residents on how to maintain it and care for the fish, Flanders said. 

More about LAMP will be available at the agency’s anniversary observance scheduled 5:30 p.m.-midnight, Nov. 8, in the grassy area of Five Points, 3705 N. Oak St.

LAMP partners with the Greater Valdosta United Way for the event.

Some of the shelter’s clients will be present and the founding churches will be recognized, Flanders said.

There will be live bands, movie on the lawn, food vendors, a cardboard box contest, s’mores and homelessness simulations.

Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. To participate in activities, the fee is $25.

Vendor space is $50 and is available until Nov. 1. Sponsorships are available at various levels.

Call (229) 245-7157, or visit lampinc.org, for more information.