LaGRANGE — Friday was moving day for board members of the Emmaus House of LaGrange.

The group, in addition to a handful of volunteers, packed up the last boxes of items and furniture from the homeless center at 321 Greenville St.

Some of the items were moved to the new site at the Matthews building at 902 Hill St. Everything else was donated to other area organizations such as the Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army.

The old Emmaus property on Greenville Street is owned by Dr. John Scott Andrews. He is the father of Jessica David, former executive director of the Emmaus Center. David resigned from the helm of the organization in August.

Soon after, the new board of directors decided to move the hub of the homeless center to another location.

The Matthews building is currently undergoing renovations, said Denná Muncy, president of the Emmaus board of directors. A new day center for homeless folks will not reopen for the next few weeks.

“We will have a day center for women, children and men. But we will not be taking folks in overnight at the Matthews building for quite awhile,” Muncy said.

More, extensive renovations need to take place in the second floor of the facility before it will be ready for overnight guests, Muncy said.

“We’re still not sure when the boarding portion of the Matthews building will be open,” she said. “We are in the middle of writing grants and generating donations to assist us with that. … When the boarding side is done, it will house just women and children. There are 12 rooms upstairs that can house two to three families to a room, depending on the size.”

Emmaus House of LaGrange still owns a home within the city limits that houses two separate families who are “transitioning from homelessness,” Muncy said. The families are working to get back on their feet but do pay bills, such as the utilities, she added.

The families that live in the home are generally recommended to Emmaus by an outside agency including the judicial system and Twin Cedars Youth and Family Services. The home is temporary and folks are generally in a place of their own within nine months, Muncy said.

Emmaus House of LaGrange will start accepting food and merchandise donations again starting Nov. 1 at the Matthews building. Furniture donations can still be made to the agency’s “upscale, resale store,” Emma’s Attic II, located at 206 Broome St.

Anyone wanting more information on Emmaus House of LaGrange may contact Muncy at 706-885-2346.