Alumnus leads effort to open homeless shelter: David Mowers

David Mowers ’07

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Effort to open homeless shelter brings community together

By Nancy Cawley Zugschwert, ’19 M.A.

Dave Mowers ’07 knows a thing or two about different denominations because he’s personally journeyed through several of them. He was born into a United Methodist family, attended a Pentecostal church in high school, graduated from North Central, an Assemblies of God University, attended an Episcopal Church his senior year of college, and went to a seminary with Baptist roots. Mowers eventually found his call and his “home” as Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Baraboo, Wisconsin. His theologically eclectic journey taught Mowers to be a bridge-builder; in the past three years, he has played an instrumental role in building bridges in the community of Baraboo to open a new homeless shelter. Understanding God’s love for the poor

As a deep-thinking college student, Mowers felt at home and concurrently out of place as he wrestled with theology. “The seeds for everything I’m doing now were planted at North Central,” Mowers said. “A lot of that had to do with the faculty there.” He was drawn to contemplate the “worldly implications of what it means to follow Jesus and what it means to be a disciple … and what that means particularly for the poor.” When he studied the minor prophets, Mowers realized that “the God of Israel and the God we meet in Jesus Christ is concerned for the material conditions of the poor—not simply their spiritual condition or their relationship to God.” Seeing how deeply God cares for the poor, Mowers is compelled to do the same. Closed doors, opened eyes

In 2016, Mowers moved to Baraboo with his wife, Elizabeth, and their children. In 2018, a homeless shelter run by an independent church closed abruptly. Mowers discovered the closure when he saw a “for sale” sign in front of the church.

Alarmed at the impact this would have on homeless people in their community, he reached out to local pastors to see if they knew the story. They learned the couple that ran the church had relocated for health reasons.

The group of pastors agreed they should see if there were some way they could provide for the 30 people who had regularly used the facility, but neither Mowers’ nor others’ congregations could provide a solution standing on their own.

Mowers said, “It became clear we needed to incorporate and have a separate, independent not-for-profit corporation; it needed to be a community organization.” Mowers found himself at an intersection where his heartpreparation for the needs of the poor met his skills as a connector and administrator. The group incorporated the Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter organization in November 2018 and Mowers was named president. However, having a formal organization and a leader didn’t mean they had a place for anyone to stay. The first hurdle they met was finding a location for the shelter. It wasn’t feasible to buy the church building that had previously housed a shelter. As they pursued other options, they encountered a series of closed doors and even a contentious battle with residents of an adjacent village who did not welcome the idea of a homeless shelter in their community. Deep discouragement

“We had been at it for six months,” Mowers recalled, “and we had no buildings and seemingly nowhere else to go. It was really discouraging.” But they kept working to figure it out. Finally, in September 2019, a local business owner offered to rent them a former memory care center. They signed the lease in September, this time sailing through the approval process for permits and zoning with the City of Baraboo. Things started to click, and donations and offers of help came from people throughout the community.

We had been at it for six months, and we had no buildings and seemingly nowhere to go. It was really discouraging. “

Persevering through the pandemic

The work slowed down dramatically with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 but did not stop. Even throughout the polarized political cycle of 2020, Mowers saw people of all political persuasions and all faiths (or no faith) step forward to help make the shelter a reality. “We opened the Pathway Shelter in January [2021],” Mowers said, “and have had about 30 clients come through so far.” They hired a full-time social worker as the director and are doing more than just providing meals---working with clients to address the problems that underscore homelessness and guide them toward permanent employment and housing. Mowers’ work to bring a shelter to Baraboo was even recognized by the Governor of Wisconsin. “It was a oncein-a-lifetime kind of experience,” Mowers said. He admitted the recognition felt odd because it was a team effort that required the support of the whole community, but he also realized it was a situation of “the right gifts, right time, right passions, right place.” His journey had prepared him “for such a time as this.”

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