Experiencing Jubilee! CCCH

Experiencing Jubilee!

Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Grand Reopening

In Partnership with Room In The Inn – Memphis, Homeless Ministry

Submitted by Mrs. Juliet Waddell Pittman, Project Coordinator and Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the First Episcopal District

Seven years in the making, and as the CME Church celebrates 150 years as a church, April 19, 2021, was the day that a dream became a reality. On this day the City of Memphis Mayor, James Strickland; the Shelby County Mayor, Lee Harris; the immediate past City Mayor, A. C. Wharton; the Director, Division of Housing and Community Development City of Memphis, Paul Young; and City Councilmen, Cheyenne Johnson and Jamita Swearengen, along with County Commission Chair, Eddie Jones, were at 409 Ayers Street to join Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Chairman, Board of Directors for Collins Chapel, and Rev. Lisa Anderson, Executive Director, Room In The Inn - Memphis, to celebrate the grand reopening and ribbon cutting ceremony! These persons along with about 100 others all came to celebrate the completion of the renovations and furnishing of Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital (CCCH) and Room In The Inn – Memphis, Homeless Ministry.

Initially it was planned that Collins Chapel Healthcare would be a faithbased skilled nursing and respite facility. It was to have specialized

Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Presiding Prelate First Episcopal District

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services for an aging community and a changing environment. In the past year via communications between Mr. Paul Young, Bishop Henry Williamson, Sr., and Rev. Lisa Anderson, we discovered that Rev. Anderson was looking for a larger and more suitable location for the homeless population due to the COVID-19 crisis. The CME Church owned a facility (Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital) and wanted to provide care for those who had great needs. Room In The Inn wanted to provide a place for emergency shelter, day center programming, respite care and possibly supportive housing units. As 2020 progressed, Room In The Inn and Mrs. Cheyenne Johnson, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church began to dream about how Memphis City Councilwoman these programs could continue to grow and how a building the Church owned could be repurposed for the good of the community. In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic crisis and the significant growth of our homeless population, the two were brought together and a partnership was formed with Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital and Room In The Inn - Memphis, Homeless Ministry. With the help of the City of Memphis, Shelby County, and the Community Redevelopment Association, that dream is becoming a reality. Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital (CCCH) was founded in 1910, by the Collins Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. It was led by Dr. W. S. Martin (Surgeon), Eva Cartman Martin (Administrator), and B. B. Martin. It has historical roots that date back to 1905 when the hospital was located at 418 Ashland Court in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital had surgical and maternity wards. The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, led by its College of Bishops, built a brand new hospital in 1954 at 409 Ayers Avenue. The project was completed with the help of churches, organizations, government officials, and both black and white citizens of goodwill. Senior Bishop J. Arthur Hamlett spearheaded this effort with the leadership of the CME Connectional Church, which included the rest of the College of Bishops and General Officers, and with Laity, Pastors and Missionaries nationwide. During the height of racial segregation, Collins Chapel was the only black-owned hospital where African Americans could receive healthcare in the Mid -South, which included Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. It was also the only place where black doctors and nurses could practice medicine during the period of legal segregation. Today there are approximately 2,000 individuals in the Memphis and Shelby County areas experiencing homelessness on any given day and night. Ninety-two percent of the homeless sleep in emergency shelters or transitional housing facilities. The remaining eight percent are found in places not meant for human habitation. The

(l-r): Elder Peris Lester; Mr. Lee Harris, Shelby County Mayor; Mr. Jim Strickland, Mayor of the City of Memphis; Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.; Attorney A.C. Wharton, Former Mayor of Memphis; and Rev. Willie Ward, Jr., Pastor of Mt. Pisgah CME Church

Mr. Eddie Jones, County Commission Chairman, and Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.

goal of this partnership is to address the needs of those affected by COVID-19 and their families. The facility is providing the following services and is in operation 24 hours a day, in three eight hour shifts with paid professional staff.

• A respite site to take people off the streets • A warming and cooling center during extreme cold and heat • An on-going testing, tracking and treatment center for COVID-19 • A shelter for homeless families • Nutritious meals • Clean clothes or laundry services • Quarantine areas • Recuperative care • Worship and counseling services through our churches and other agencies

Special thanks to: the churches in the First Episcopal District, located in Tennessee and Arkansas, for their financial support throughout the past seven years; the CCCH team and each member for your major role in making this happen; Presiding Elder Peris J. Lester, I; Rev. Willie Ward, Jr.; Mrs. JoAnn Jones; Mrs. Juliet Waddell Pittman; Attorney Charles Carpenter; Rev. Juan Self of Self/Tucker Architects; Rev. Lisa Anderson and the RITI team, board and staff; and Chris Woods Construction Company.

We are also thankful for the support of our Board of Directors, which includes Bishop C. James King, who is the Vice Chair, and the members from the episcopal districts as here listed: Presiding Elder Peris J. Lester, 1st; Rev. Kenneth Thomas, 2nd; Mr. J. Russell Gantt, 3rd; Presiding Elder Q. H. Whitlock, 4th; Rev. George P. Hill, Jr., 5th; Mr. Jim Turner, 6th; Mrs. Laura R. A. Holloway, 7th; Mrs. Dorruth Boyd, 8th; Rev. Travis Morris, 9th; Mr. Victor Udo, 10th; and Rev. D. Kobi Little, 11th.

Congratulations on this official grand reopening!

Room in the Inn - Memphis will move into the newly renovated Collins Chapel Connectional Hospital this year and continue Recuperative Care and the Family Inn in a 24/7 facility with on-site case management and family advocates. Hospitality planning for the future will include many more services and resources for our guests. We can't wait to share what unfolds for 2021!

Here is the link to the video of the ribbon cutting ceremony.

https://youtu.be/WRl7auGoghw

(l-r): Mr. Paul Young, Director of Housing for the City of Memphis; Mr. Chris Woods, Owner of Chris Woods Construction; Mr. Fred Hardeman, Vice President of Regions Bank; Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr.; Mr. Don Sloan, Chris Woods Construction; Elder Peris Lester; and Rev. Willie Ward, Jr. (l-r): Rev. Jellory Stokes, Dr. Jacqueline I. Scott, Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Mrs. Yvonne Acey, and Mrs. Juliet Waddell Pittman

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(l-r): Mr. Don Sloan, Mr. Chris Woods (owner of Chris Woods Construction), Rev. Juan Self of Self Tucker Architects, Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., and Mr. Kevin Lee (l-r): Elder Peris J. Lester, Rev. Willie Ward, Jr. Elder Q. H. Whitlock, Bishop Henry Williamson, Elder Bethel Harris, Jr., Dr. Doris Williamson, and Elder Claude A. Bass

(l-r): Mrs. Juliet Waddell Pittman, Mr. Chris Woods, Dr. Jacqueline I. Scott, Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Ms. Marzie Thomas, District Director for U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen; Rev. Lisa Anderson, Ms. Jamita Swearengen, City Councilman; and Rev. Dr. Eddie Jumper