The Bowery Mission

Programs for Adults At its downtown campuses at 227 Bowery and 90 Lafayette St., The Bowery Mission provides hot meals, clothing, safe overnight shelter and other basic needs and emergency services for New Yorkers experiencing hunger and homelessness. At its uptown campuses, The Bowery Mission provides faith-based Residential Programs for adults in crisis to achieve personal goals for life and work, heal from past trauma, and overcome barriers to independent living. Programs for Children The Bowery Mission's programs for children, Mont Lawn Summer Camp and City Camp, provide children from low-income neighborhoods with opportunities for leadership, skill building, and personal growth. Located in East Harlem and the South Bronx, Mont Lawn City Camp offers year-round enrichment classes, tutoring, and mentoring for children and youth. ==History==

The Bowery Mission was founded in 1879 by the Reverend Albert Gleason Ruliffson and Ellen Dorchester Ruliffson. It was the third rescue mission established in the United States He frequently talked over the subject with the Ruliffsons, and they opened the mission in a small room at 14 Bowery. For 16 years, Crosby wrote a new hymn to be sung at The Bowery Mission anniversary celebration held in November. In 1895 the Mission was bought by Dr. Louis Klopsch, owner of the Christian Herald, to save it from economic distress. It became one of many domestic charities sponsored by the publication. Klopsch became president Hallimond introduced many innovative services, such as a home for women in Brooklyn, a Free Labor Bureau, and the famed breadline, which began in 1902. Transportation was provided to locations as far as 50 miles away. In 1956, The Bowery Mission was featured prominently in Lionel Rogison's award-winning docufiction film On The Bowery, which forever immortalizes life in New York City's skid row. In the film, George Bolton, then superintendent of The Bowery Mission, preaches to a crowd of men in the mission's historic chapel. ==227 Bowery Location==

The Bowery Mission moved to its current location at 227 Bowery in 1909. and installed stained glass windows by Benjamin Sellers depicting the Parable of the Prodigal Son the second floor. The interior was remodeled into a chapel in the Gothic Revival style. One night, after being stabbed in a park, Grande came to the Mission's doors bleeding. Grande chose the color red in homage to that encounter and to "symbolize Christ's blood as the entrance to life." Chapel attendance is not required to receive a meal. ==Today==

Beginning in the 2000s, new efforts were made toward expansion and the Mission opened residences for adults on the Upper East Side (2005), Harlem (2012) and East Harlem (2013). In November 2017, New York City Rescue Mission became a controlled affiliate of The Bowery Mission. Under The Bowery Mission's leadership, its former campus at 90 Lafayette St. campus continues to provide emergency shelter and services with beds available on a walk-in basis. In 2020, The Bowery Mission provided more than 429,500 meals, 104,000 nights of shelter, 67,500 emergency showers, and 27,600 articles of clothing. In 2019, The Bowery Mission and its controlled affiliates received more than $7.3 million worth of donated food, clothing, and other items. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bowery Mission continued to provide shelter and housing for nearly 325 people every night. == Accountability ==

• The Bowery Mission is listed as a 4-star charity on Charity Navigator. • The Bowery Mission is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau. • The Bowery Mission is listed as a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). • The Bowery Mission is listed as a Platinum member of Guidestar. • The Bowery Mission is an accredited member of the Citygate Network. == Connection to Mont Lawn Camp ==

The Bowery Mission was one of many domestic charities formerly sponsored by the Christian Herald under the leadership of Louis Klopsch. In 1894, with money left over from a food drive, Klopsch established a children's home at Mont Lawn in Upper Nyack, New York, to serve children from immigrant families living on the Lower East Side. After the Herald ceased publication in 1992, Mont Lawn Camp continued under the ownership and operation of The Bowery Mission. ==See also==