Film director helps launch his vision for sanctuary

The sanctuary was frigid, with people huddling close in their jackets and scarves in a space softly lit by strung lights and stained glass windows.

But for many, the setting on Thursday at First Street Church, with its massive gothic arches, was perfect for the groundbreaking of a homeless day shelter and resource center.

“There are people who live every day out in the cold,” said Karen Shepard, the executive director for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency.

Hundreds gathered at the downtown Charlottesville church, constructed in 1839, for the groundbreaking of the project, which will cost $5 million and was pioneered by film director and University of Virginia graduate Tom Shadyac. Shadyac purchased the First Street property in 2006 after spending much of the previous year in the area filming “Evan Almighty,” and vowed to turn it into a place where the homeless and working poor could recuperate and obtain services to get them on their feet.

“I think it’s great to have a centralized place, a place to walk to,” said Deborah Prum, who lives in Albemarle County.

Prum said she was in the church at the beginning of the summer with project director Janet Matthews, “when it was just rubble,” she said.

“We walked in here and just dreamed,” Prum said.

While Charlottesville has been recognized as a top place to live, Shadyac said, “that No. 1 status passed by so many people.”

“We can’t let that happen,” he said.

The 15,000-square-foot church will be divided into four areas — Kay’s kitchen, where breakfast will be served daily; the sanctuary, which will host educational, professional and cultural events; the day haven for the homeless; and the annex for agency offices.

Matthews said many area groups will be providing services through the church, including the Region Ten Community Services Board, MACAA, People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry, the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless and the HIV/AIDS Services Group.

“It’s a very flexible space that’s available to the community across the board,” Matthews said. She added that the center, which is expected to open by Thanksgiving, plans to sustain itself through fundraising, grants and “hopefully public funding,” she said.

Shadyac said that part of the reason he chose the First Street building was because the church was “right in the thick of it.” But he said he realized he wanted to give back to the community in this way when one day he biked past UVa students protesting as a part of the “living wage” campaign.

“This is the way I want to contribute,” he said.

Shadyac, who was present Thursday and hugged what seemed to be an endless stream of people, described what he saw as a “crisis in compassion” in terms of people taking care of each other.

“The enemy here is homelessness,” he said. “As long as someone is disadvantaged, we feel it.”

“This is going to be a true place of refuge,” said city Mayor Dave Norris, who attended along with Councilors Holly Edwards and Julian Taliaferro. Norris said the community is grateful to Shadyac.

“It’s up to us to be stewards of this gift,” Norris said.