CORNERSTONE RESCUE MISSION DIRECTOR CREATES A CAREER DOING GOOD

“Do good because you can do good.” Words to live by and words that have led Lysa Allison, Executive Director of the Cornerstone Rescue Mission in Rapid City, to a career that has touched the lives of thousands of people.

Lysa, whose love of science and nature brought her to Black Hills State University initially to pursue a bachelor’s degree in outdoor education, has always had a heart for helping people. Her first job after graduation, a secretary for the Department of Corrections, didn’t directly correlate with her degree. However Lysa says that position started her on the path to her current position with the Cornerstone.

As the Executive Director, a position she’s held for five-and-a-half years, Lysa oversees all operations of the Cornerstone Rescue Mission, veteran’s outreach, women and children’s home, Cornerstone thrift store, and Cornerstone apartments. She works with a staff of 70 and approximately 800 volunteers to serve the 24/7 needs of vulnerable communities in an expansive region that includes all of west river South Dakota, and areas of North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska although Lysa says that their reach extends much farther than that.

As the only emergency shelters in west river South Dakota, the Cornerstone provides a vital service for the community, taking in people off the streets and helping them turn their lives around. “We take people in that are sober and want to change their lives,” Lysa says.

She notes that the best part of her job is the people that she meets. “Some people think homeless people have a stigma because they’re different. But they’re wonderful people – they’re mothers, they’re fathers, they’re aunts and uncles. And they’re incredibly resilient. I’ve learned so much about resiliency and character from them.”

The needs of the homeless don’t go away during a pandemic. In fact, crises often create an increased need for services. While COVID-19 has brought challenges to the Cornerstone Mission, Lysa and her staff knew it was imperative to continue services without interruption.

Seeing miracles unfold daily

The Cornerstone Mission started with the missionary work of Dave and Cheryl Adams in the early 1980s. They first sheltered the homeless in their own residence and then created the mission in a house at the corner of 12th and St. Joseph in Rapid City. Today, the Cornerstone Rescue Mission is the main provider of shelter and the only ongoing source of free meals for the homeless in the Black Hills region. The main facility houses as many as 160 homeless men nightly, and through the public soup kitchen feeds between 400 and 500 meals daily.

The staff at the Cornerstone also get to be a part of helping make miracles happen. They work to reconnect families that haven’t talked to their son or daughter in years.

“When people show up, we try to connect them with their family so they don’t have to stay in the shelter,” Lysa adds. “We really work on building bridges, and we’re pretty successful at that.”

The Cornerstone’s other missions include providing supportive services for veterans and their families, a women and children’s home, and the Cornerstone apartments, which are furnished apartments for families who have previously been homeless and have someone in the family with a disability.

Another part of Lysa’s position is working with the Board of Directors for the Mission and building relationships in the community.

“The majority of the mission’s funding comes from individual donations, so it’s really key to have the support of the community,” Lysa emphasizes.

The mission relies on the support of the community, and they have proven that they are good stewards of the funds and the volunteer hours donated to them. They have a 4-star rating on charity navigator, which is the highest ranking a charity can receive for financial management and transparency. Almost all of the money, a little more than 93 percent, that people give to the mission goes back into services. Approximately one percent goes toward fundraising and less than six percent goes toward administrative fees.

The goodwill that the mission builds with its clients also helps provide staff members who can really connect with the people they serve.

“We’re a peer-driven program. A vast majority of my staff are people who have come up through the system, especially at the men’s mission. They stayed at the mission. They understand what it’s like to be homeless.”

Love of nature meets love of people

Lysa’s stewardship extends to the great outdoors. One program that Cornerstone has been doing for several years uses clothing recycling to help fund the women and children’s home. Cornerstone works with a company that recycles clothing that is no longer able to be sold in the thrift store. According to Lysa, it’s a win-win, keeping clothing out of the landfill and providing funds for the women and children’s home.

“Old shoes can be made into doormats and things like that. It’s really pretty cool.”

Her love of the outdoors and her heart for service have been fostered by many mentors along the way, first and foremost by her “wonderful parents.” Lysa’s father was a military officer, and their family traveled all over the world, gaining experience working with other cultures and feeding their “strong, good spirit for life.”

Former BHSU professor Dr. Mark Gabel and his late wife, Dr. Audrey Gabel, nurtured Lysa’s passion for the outdoors.

“Those were two really great teachers that I will always remember. I really enjoyed learning from Dr. Mark Gabel – his compassion, his sensitivity and concern for his students, his love of nature. He loved what he did. The passion just oozed out of him and his wife as well.”

And others who have left their mark on her life include BHSU alums Kay Jorgenson, Kathy Eddy, and Dr. Priscilla Romkema, who now serves a Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at BHSU.

“All of them are fabulous women that I’ve learned a lot from. They’re pretty remarkable.”

While a student at BHSU, Lysa worked with Kay, Priscilla and Kathy at the Passion Play in Spearfish. “I learned some really formative people lessons and business lessons from them and I still keep in touch with those three women.”

The power of those mentor relationships will extend through the decades as Lysa, in turn, leaves her mark on the lives of those she helps at the Cornerstone Rescue Mission and in her volunteer work throughout the community.