Shelter Update

We are extremely concerned about the ever-increasing newly homeless population that is being added to our existing clientele on a daily basis. Over the last few months, we averaged 175 men and women and occasionally several children inside our 90 bed facility. The overflow sleep on floor mats, mostly in our dinning room.

We have expanded our services to provide the people released from local hospitals with 24 hours bed rest, when medically advised to do so. We plan to add a licensed part-time nurse to monitor patients' conditions and dispense medication, and perhaps a social worker to arrange government benefits and appropriate living arrangements.

At The Shelter, we are presently accepting four new guests everyday. Four new faces that we have never seen before. That is why we are so pleased when our existing residents find permanent housing. We have assisted at least 135 people to find homes since July 1st.

Our budget is now set at $339,000 for this fiscal year, which began October 1st and only 65% of this figure is assured to us through The United Way and other grants. The remaining 35% will hopefully be provided by caring community supporters like you.

That is why your support is so critically important to us. Without that assistance, we will have to cut back on our services which would be detrimental to so many lives.