Last year, anti-poverty organization Beacon Inc., was able to open a low-barrier winter homeless shelter in a warehouse along the B-Line Trail.
That won’t be the case this year.
“We are currently, for a whole host of reasons, including space and staffing and just trying to keep our other programs going, we aren’t taking it on this year,” said Rev. Forrest Gilmore, the executive director of Beacon.
He said opening a shelter last year was primarily in response to the city clearing the encampment at Seminary Park of those experiencing homelessness. And the pandemic.
COVID-relief funding from the state and other grants helped fund the 49-bed shelter last year, but the funding, and the staff that came with that, no longer exist.
Wheeler Mission on the city’s west side continues to provide overnight shelter for those experiencing homelessness, but it and other year-round shelters have rules that may make it too restrictive for some to use.
“They do continue to have open beds at Wheeler, but out shelter friends places are usually booked every night,” Gilmore said. “So, there’s very little availability there.”
And with cold weather settling in over the area, things are even more difficult for those experiencing homelessness in the city.
“We’re constantly seeing hardship and constantly seeing trauma and difficulty and challenge, and the winter always adds an extra level of that,” Gilmore said.
