Wylie Men's shelter opens

Thanks to the generosity of a Carson City woman who made it her mission to help those in need, Friends In Service Helping had its grand-opening Sunday of the Dorothy Wylie Men's Shelter.

"Very few of us here today knew Dorothy Wylie," said Vicki Preston, chairperson for FISH Board of Directors. "We only know that she chose FISH as the organization she hoped would carry on her mission of providing shelter to the homeless."

Wylie, who died in 1997, left her inheritance to FISH.

In her life, Wylie was known to open her home and heart to anyone in need.

The new shelter is the final stage of FISH's "Building Bridges Campaign. "

A crowd of about 20 people entered the newly remodeled red-stone home near the State Fire Marshal's Office on the Stewart Indian School Complex.

The three-bedroom home sleeps 10 and as of Sunday, had seven tenants.

For $35 a week, men in need of transitional housing can have a safe place to eat, sleep and exist.

"If they need a place they can stay as long as they have to," said Wylie House manager Bruce Via.

Via oversees the daily operation of the home, in addition to living there and working full time for Costco.

"This is a good place for people that are willing to work and just need a little help," Via said.

Mayor Ray Masayko said he was proud to have FISH in Carson City.

"Without this organization, Carson City would be in a world of hurt. I know they are going to make this one work," he said.

The new shelter is an adjunct to the Focus House, a similar facility a few blocks away. With the addition of the Wylie House, Focus House will accommodate only women, whereas the Wylie House will be all male.

"Unless we have some overflow," Via said.

Friend in Service Helping's "Building Bridges Campaign," which raised $300,000 including Wylie's estate, made the home possible.

Founded in 1979 as an emergency food closet, FISH, a non-profit agency, offers temporary and emergency services and referrals to needy families and individuals.