Where a gift gives forever

As any 5-month-old would, Valicia Otero is finding the adult conversation in Matt Miller’s office at Welcome Hall to be pretty dull.

Bouncing on her mom’s knee breaks the monotony a bit, as does her first glimpse of the photographer’s camera. The most interesting object in sight, however, is the lace tablecloth just out of her reach. If she could only get hold of that, this get-together might turn out to be fun after all.

Valicia doesn’t understand now, but the occasion is a reunion between her mother, Elaine, and Matt, who is director of the Welcome Hall Community Center in Rome. It’s a happy ending that might not have been had her mom,
Matt and the agency not come together 14 years earlier.

At the age of 9, Elaine’s prospects in life seemed dim. With a background of poverty and lack of positive role models, she characterized her life — which at times included caring for three younger sisters before she was even a teen — as far from normal. One day her mother took her to Welcome Hall, where she met Matt. Gradually, things began to change.

As they became friends, Matt also became a mentor, father figure and role model. He was a confidant, there on a daily basis to help her through life’s ups and downs. There were plenty of them. But throughout it all, Matt made it clear that he believed in Elaine. That gave her the confidence to believe in herself.

In 2001 Elaine broke a chain by becoming the first member of her family to graduate from high school, Rome Free Academy. She went on to attend Mohawk Valley Community College, where she eventually plans to earn a nursing degree. On February 26, 2005, she married her husband, Michael. Before long, Valicia came along. Elaine also works at the Betsy Ross Nursing Facility in Rome, gaining experience in her career field.

The Greatest Influence

“I grew up at Welcome Hall,” she says, “I came here after school and on days when there was no school. The people care. Matt was always here for me. He showed me the wrong way and the right way. He was the greatest influence I’ve ever had.”

Not everyone who comes to Welcome Hall or the Rescue Mission of Utica, its parent organization, has a success story like Elaine’s. But all are treated with the same compassion, respect and sense of hope. Both sites minister to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people from all walks of life through a variety of programs and services.

At Welcome Hall, 98 percent of clients are single parents and children. The facility serves an average of 100 meals a day, 50 of which are to youngsters.

Since 1991 The Community Foundation has helped fund a variety of initiatives undertaken by the Rescue Mission, through 14 grants totaling over $236,000. A $25,000 challenge grant in 1998 was instrumental in enabling Welcome Hall to move its growing operations to the current center at 413 East Dominick Street.

Other major grants to the Rescue Mission have included $100,000 toward expansion of its service complex in Utica, $40,000 for construction of a new Emergency Housing Shelter and $38,000 to help launch a Career Employment Services Program.

While the work of the Mission and Welcome Hall will always be important, the positive direction Elaine has taken with her life and family makes it unlikely Valicia will ever need those services.

That’s not to say the two won’t continue to stop in for visits with Matt.

And you can bet that one of these days, Valicia is going to get her hands on that tablecloth.