SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge #161 used approximately $500 of their Elks National Foundation Beacon Grant to provide personal hygiene products to the Mother Susan Anderson House in Saratoga Springs. The Mother Susan Anderson House provides 12 beds for homeless women and children on an emergency basis.
The Mother Susan Anderson shelter, named for one of the women who helped start the church in 1961, was once the parsonage and sits adjacent to the house of worship at the corner of Caroline and Henry streets. It can house between 12 and 17 people depending on how the rooms are set up. Unlike other shelters, there is no time limit on how long the clients can stay. It is often a last resort for women who violated the rules at another shelter or overstayed their welcome, the Rev. Sheila Byrd said. She interviews each woman who asks to stay.
The Elks also announced its Flag Day Parade, which was scheduled to take place June 12 has been rescheduled to take place on Sept. 11 this year. The 2021 parade theme will be “Honoring Our First Responders.” The Avant Garde Drum and Bugle Corps will again reunite and be a key participant in this year’s parade.
