MANSFIELD — Miles Parsons asked Wayfinders staff if the homeless shelter should operate more like a business or a home.
“Most of them said home,” he said. “We have to balance those two, obviously, but we do want to make it homier here.”
The Wayfinders Ohio board (formerly Harmony House) approved Parsons as the new executive director on Feb. 8. He started work on Feb. 12.
The Crestview graduate has spent most of his career working in nursing homes and senior care centers around Mansfield, Lexington and Mount Vernon.
“This industry is new to me, but there are some similarities — they’re both service-oriented,” Parsons said. “The Wayfinders mission really appealed to me of helping people empower themselves to change their circumstances.”
According to the Wayfinders Ohio website, the organization changed its name in 2022 from Harmony House Homeless Services to reflect its vision of helping people experiencing homelessness “find their way to a life they are proud of.”
Wayfinders will help a new client with shelter, food and clean clothes. Case managers then help clients access health services, make appointments and develop an action plan.
“Wayfinders tries to be involved with other organizations that help our clients,” Parsons said. “Coming from the non-profit world, I’ve already worked with a number of those agencies, so it will be nice to re-engage with them.”
The shelter, located at 124 W. Third St., can host up to 58 residents. Single men are on the downstairs floor, while women, children and families are upstairs. Wayfinders has nine rooms that can accommodate up to four people each.
The shelter is also equipped with a kitchen and food pantry, laundry rooms and multiple bathrooms.
It has a one-bedroom apartment named after the late board member Ed Meehan for larger families.
Parsons aims to establish normalcy for Wayfinders guests
Parsons said his goal to make the Wayfinders shelter feel like a home includes painting walls and moving some office cubicles.
“I’m thinking we’ll keep the administrative assistant up front, but move our housing managers’ cubicles to the back of the building,” he said. “It looks like an office when you first walk in here, which isn’t bad, but we want to make it feel more inviting.”
The Ohio State University alumnus said he wants to buy new toys for children in the facility to help “establish some normalcy during an unstable time.”
Parsons said Wayfinders’ goal is to help a guest find long-term housing within 40 days. Staff members go through an intake form and admission agreement.
“During the intake process, we’re going to give someone who comes in an exit date,” he said. “If they’re doing what they should do — looking for a job, doing chores here and working with the case managers — they might need to stay here longer and we can be flexible in those circumstances.
“Being clear with expectations is helpful all around, you don’t want to go to someone on Day 39 and say you have to be out in a day, because that’s not fair to anybody.”
Parsons said the Wayfinders board is working to remodel a donated property from the Richland County Land Bank to expand its services within the next year or two.
“That’s on Park Avenue, and once we get that up and running, we’ll be able to serve three times the number of people we have here,” he said.
Parsons is a board member for the Richland County Domestic Violence Shelter and Ohio Guardianship Services. He lives in Mansfield with his wife and three children.
Wayfinders board applauds Parsons’ experience
Alex Goff, board member for Wayfinders Ohio, said the executive board was happy to hire Parsons.
“Miles brings together a rare combination of business acumen, leadership, and a passion for serving his community,” Goff said. “He is a local guy and wants nothing more than to see Richland County thrive and help us foster collaboration among all of the local non-profits.
“Our team is truly blessed to have someone of his caliber and passion lead the organization and we look forward to a bright future.”
Parsons will oversee Wayfinders operations and grant writing.
“Wayfinders is in a good financial position because of Kelly Blankenship’s work,” he said. “So we want to keep it there, keep up with grant writing and that sort of thing.
“Another one of my goals is to increase staff morale and be transparent with the employees and make sure they have a supportive environment.”
Parsons thanked Wayfinders staff and board members for welcoming him into the new position.
“They’ve really stepped up to assist with the transitions the past few months,” he said. “Jen Poth in particular has been volunteering a great amount of time and energy, helping out where needed and really running the show the past few months.
“I’m looking forward to working with the board and improving our community.”
Wayfinders is located at 124 W. Third St. Residents can contact the shelter at 419-522-2323 and on Facebook.