St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter has named Dan Eaton as director of special initiatives, effective Sept. 1. Eaton will be the first person to take on this role for the expanding nonprofit organization.
According to Director Harry Pedigo, Eaton will oversee operations at the new St. Benedict’s Women & Family Services facility, which is expected to open up in the next couple of months.
“Dan’s emphasis will be coordinating the facility and orchestrating the partnerships provided there,” Pedigo said. “The plan for him is to help sustain it. As far as funding goes, we’ll operate that facility on its own expenses.”
Though Eaton’s emphasis will primarily be on the new women and family facility, Pedigo said he and Eaton will work together to collaborate between the two campuses.
One of Eaton’s assignments will be spearheading the ministry program held at St. Benedict’s.
“The ministry program has always been an important focus of ours, but I think that with his experience, we can make it even stronger,” Pedigo said.
Before taking this role, Eaton had been a volunteer and part-time worker at St. Benedict’s for years. He’d also worked full-time at Green River District Health Department, Pedigo said, giving him experience that will carry over into his job at St. Benedict’s.
“He’s really experienced with working with the same individuals we work with, but on a deeper level,” Pedigo said.
Eaton was proactive about taking on the role of director of special initiatives, Pedigo added.
“When we were discussing the new facility opening, he came to me,” he said. “He’s very qualified and very passionate. It was a win-win for us.”
Pedigo said there’s a few things that still need to be wrapped up before renovations begin on the new facility, which will be located at Ninth Street and Hickman Avenue. Once things get rolling, however, renovations are only expected to take between four and six weeks to complete.
“I think the timing is just right,” he said. “There were other full-time opportunities Dan could’ve had at our facility, but he was ecstatic to take on this position. He’s very enthusiastic and optimistic about where we can go as operation. We don’t stand still — we address the need. He’s excited he can do that on a bigger capacity than he’s done before.”
