South Hills Interfaith Movement continues mission with renovated headquarters

The building may have a new look, especially on its South Park Road side.

But the mission of South Hills Interfaith Movement — in its concise form, “neighbors helping neighbors” — remains the same.

“You drive past here, and you don’t know who walks in the door. It could be your daughter’s swim coach. It could be the family behind you at church,” SHIM volunteer Lisa Connell said.

“It was me,” she acknowledged to a room full of people, “and it could be any of you at some point in your life.”

Connell served as a featured speaker for an Oct. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating renovations to the SHIM Center in Bethel Park, headquarters for the venerable social services nonprofit.

And among what undoubtedly was a long list of worthy candidates, she was selected to wield the scissors.

The honor symbolized a 180-degree turn for Connell, who once struggled financially as the single mother of two teenage boys.

“A co-worker of mine at the time said, ‘Why don’t you stop at SHIM. Maybe they can help you. They have a food pantry. Just pick up a couple of things,’” she recalled, and her immediate response was:

“I can’t do it. I live in Bethel Park. I’m not living on the streets. I’m fully employed. There’s no reason for me to go there.”

Eventually, she changed her mind.

“And I came in with my head hanging, my confidence shaking, a bit lost. And when I left, I was totally at ease,” Connell said. “They make you feel like a person, and they make you feel like you’re welcome here and we’re going to get you through. We’re going to get you back on your feet, get you out the door and put you on a road for success.”

A growing need

She and her family are doing fine today, but that isn’t the case across the board.

“This past month of August was the first time in our history through our three food pantries that we served over 4,000 individuals here in the South Hills,” SHIM executive director Jim Guffey said, “in communities that aren’t associated with poverty.”

Along with the Bethel Park center, additional pantries are at Baldwin United Presbyterian Church and SHIM’s South Hills Family Center, both in Baldwin Borough.

SHIM was founded in 1968 by a priest, rabbi and minister at South Hills Village, three years after its opening, with the original name of South Hills Ministries in the Mall.

Forty years, a few other locations and a new name — South Hills Interfaith Ministries — later, the independent nonprofit purchased a former residence at the southeastern corner of Park Avenue and South Park Road.

“It was not the best of buildings, but it worked for what we needed it to do at that time,” Guffey said, particularly citing parking and accessibility issues. “The old mechanical aspects of the building were, honestly, costing us a fortune, and it’s not good stewardship for donor dollars.”

A grant linked to state gaming revenue provided an initial $375,000 toward a major overhaul. Despite a cost estimate of between $500,000 and $1 million, the final total represented “about a $2 million investment,” according to Guffey.

He thanked entities including the Jefferson Regional Foundation, Eden Hall Foundation and Christ Church in Bethel Park for helping make up the difference, along with “several private donors that stepped forward that wanted to remain anonymous.”

“At the end of the day,” he said, “all of this comes together so that SHIM can accomplish our vision statement here, which is a South Hills community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Meeting the demand

Identifying with the concept was another ribbon-cutting speaker, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.

“I grew up in the North Hills. Don’t hold it against me,” she joked before shifting to a serious tone.

“Behind that white picket fence and that suburban house on a nice residential street, there was a parent struggling with addiction. There was housing insecurity,” Innamorato said. “And it was the community that lifted me up, that lifted my family up and allowed me to be what I am today.”

She complimented the SHIM team as having “really risen to meet this demand of helping families who are grappling with food insecurity, with unemployment, with the challenges of suburban poverty, with the shame associated often with seeking resources for the first time.”

“This new space is beautiful,” she said, “and people are going to walk through these doors and they’re going to be free from judgment.”

Proving the blessing for the celebration was the Rev. Brian Snyder, pastor of Bower Hill Community Church in Mt. Lebanon and a member of SHIM’s board of directors.

“SHIM provides food, clothing, tax services, immigrant and refugee services, after-school tutoring, elder care services and more, all without judgment and with a human touch,” he said. “Speaking on behalf of the diverse faith communities in the South Hills, I take comfort and even a degree of pride in SHIM’s presence. SHIM fosters a sense of cooperation between people who are traditionally divided across religious and cultural barriers.”

‘No ulterior motives’

His congregation attempts to provide aid for those who seek it.

“By joining with SHIM, our ability to offer assistance is vastly greater,” Snyder said. “And I can rest assured that SHIM has no ulterior motives. They’re not trying to make converts. They’re not trying to get into heaven. They’re just trying to help their neighbors in need.”

Pace Markowitz, who chairs the board of directors, thanked SHIM’s staff members for their perseverance during renovations.

“They lived through the entirety of this project,” he said. “They lived through the construction. They lived through the design and everything to, hopefully now, get to the other side where we have a much more welcoming space.”

He expressed gratitude to the organization’s legion of volunteers, who “really are the backbone,” and to the longtime executive director.

“I do want to thank Jim. He doesn’t like to be thanked, but sometimes you do need to be thanked,” Markowitz said, saluting Guffey’s efforts “to really help us to keep SHIM relevant and really to meet the vision of compassionately helping our neighbors meet their basic needs, achieve self-sufficiency and build community.

“That’s what we’re here for today.”

For more information about South Hills Interfaith Movement, visit shimcares.org.