Pocatello pastor trying to create a supportive home for the homeless

As Jacqualine Thomas, the pastor at Praise Temple of God in Pocatello, walked through the Bistline Building Tuesday she was already describing what Big Momma’s House will look like.

“I’m going to turn this (room) into a bathroom,” she said of one of the rooms in a room by the back patio.

Thomas got the idea of creating another homeless shelter for the community when the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office asked for her help with a homeless woman. When the woman didn’t want to go to Aid for Friends— the one homeless shelter in town — she was made aware of the need for more.

“(One of the officers) looked at me and he said, ‘Big Momma, we need another shelter,'” Thomas said. “I said OK, I’ll do it.”

Thomas, however, wants Big Momma’s House to be more than just a shelter. Besides housing, she plans to provide educational and job-seeking opportunities, as well as provide mental, spiritual and emotional support and therapy. She even plans to provide substance abuse and domestic violence counseling and transportation services.

This supportive housing concept stems from her own experiences being homeless.

“I want it to be a home of hope,” Thomas said. “I want it to be a place where they will have a new beginning, so their past will not define who they are.”

Mary Tait has owned the building for seven years. People have offered to buy the building before, but Tait said no one like Thomas.

“I can’t even tell you how many times I have said no, so to have somebody that can come in and love it as much as I do — I’m excited,” Tait said.

Thomas has until Oct. 1 to raise $225,000 to buy the building, she’s hopeful the community will open their hearts to help raise the funds.

Thomas created a Big Momma’s House donation account at Well Fargo. People can visit any Wells Fargo in the area to donate into the account. These donations are tax deductible.

You can also donate via PayPal on the shelter’s website here.