Chalkfest rescheduled due to weather

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Out on a limb: Remembering the Great War and the Pennsylvania Ninth Infantry

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As Ruth&#8217;s Place prepares to move to a new location, one of its residents is getting ready to move into her new apartment.</p><p>Amanda Mullis is a 34-year-old homeless woman from Hazleton who has battled mental illness for years. She credits the staff at Ruth&#8217;s Place for getting her to the point where she will be able to live independently.</p><p>Mullis told her story just a few days before Sunday&#8217;s 8th annual Walk For Hope in Wilkes-Barre that raises awareness of the homeless issue in Luzerne County.</p><p>Despite Ruth&#8217;s Place 96 percent success rate of returning clients to transitional housing or independent living, officials say the homeless issue in the region is not going away.</p><p>Kristen Topolski, former director at Ruth&#8217;s Place and now the Wilkes-Barre program coordinator for Volunteers of America, and Jackie Tona, the new director at the shelter, said all 21 beds are occupied at Ruth&#8217;s Place and currently clients range in age from 19 to 67.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why we do the Walk For Hope,&#8221; Tona said. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to raise awareness about homelessness among Luzerne County women.&#8221;</p><p>The two-mile walk will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday on Public Square. More than 400 turned out for the event last year.</p><p>Tona and Topolski said a Ruth&#8217;s Place client will speak at the event and offer her compelling story.</p><p>Mullis said she recently received word that she has been approved for disability compensation. She said the staff at Ruth&#8217;s Place helped her file the proper paperwork.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been through many shelters,&#8221; Mullis said. &#8220;But I never got help anywhere like I have gotten here.&#8221;</p><p>Mullis said the staff at Ruth&#8217;s Place provided her with clothes, helped her look for a job and made appointments for her at various agencies.</p><p>&#8220;They advocated for me,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Topolski said Ruth&#8217;s Place keeps in touch with clients who leave to go out on their own. Tona said many of the former homeless clients return to volunteer to help other women find their way.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of them call us to let us know of any significant life events they have,&#8221; Topolski said.</p><p>Ruth&#8217;s Place opened in 2003 and moved to its current location in 2009. The agency merged with Volunteers of America in 2013.</p><p>Topolski and Tona said one current client holds a Ph.D. and formerly worked as a college professor. They said she has battled depression and anxiety, but has made remarkable progress.</p><p>&#8220;She goes with us to speak to groups,&#8221; Topolski said. &#8220;She has become an important advocate for Ruth&#8217;s Place. She is feeling much more confident now as compared to when she came to us.&#8221;</p><p>Topolski said the new location for Ruth&#8217;s Place, which is kept private for the safety of clients, will be much larger, offering semi-private rooms for clients. She said clients will also be able to have their children with them at the new facility.</p><p>&#8220;We will also have two large family rooms,&#8221; Topolski said.</p><p>According to its website:</p><p>&#8226; Ruth&#8217;s Place is the only emergency shelter for homeless women in Luzerne County.</p><p>&#8226; A program of Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania, Ruth&#8217;s Place has provided emergency shelter and services for more than 2,000 homeless women since its beginning in 2003.</p><p>&#8226; For more information, call 570-822-6817, or go to the website: ruthsplace.com.</p><p>&#8226; Send donations to: Ruth&#8217;s Place, c/o 25 N. River St. Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702. Make checks payable to &#8220;Ruth&#8217;s Place.&#8221; All donations are tax deductible.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jackie Tona and Kristen Topolski of Ruth&#8217;s Place discuss the upcoming fundraiser Walk for Hope on Sunday at Public Square to raise funds for the new shelter. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL100215ruthsplace1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jackie Tona and Kristen Topolski of Ruth&#8217;s Place discuss the upcoming fundraiser Walk for Hope on Sunday at Public Square to raise funds for the new shelter. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL100215ruthsplace2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Amanda Mullis looks through photographs at Ruth&#8217;s Place on Thursday. Mullis will be moving into her own apartment on Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL100215ruthsplace2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Amanda Mullis looks through photographs at Ruth&#8217;s Place on Thursday. Mullis will be moving into her own apartment on Monday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre’s Ruth’s Place shelter moving to new digs to better serve clients