Over-full. I just got an update this morning, here’s the run down:
THERE ARE MORE FAMILIES WE CAN’T SERVE THAN FAMILIES WE CAN SERVE LOOKING FOR SHELTER
– There are 34 families currently in the 90-day family shelter program at The Salvation Army, YWCA, or in a local motel.
– There are currently 43* families on the waiting list (*includes those using Warming House who are eligible for family shelter)
Notes:
– That’s a 90-day lifetime limit, use up your time and there is no where to go.
– Since many people use up their lifetime limit, they could be homeless and not seeking shelter at the Salvation Army, therefore the need is likely greater than the 43 families.
SOME FIND SHELTER AT THE ‘WARMING HOUSE’
The “Warming House” is basically over-flow shelter for when the shelter is full and they can’t crash at a friend’s or family members house. This often happens because if they do, they put the friend or family member’s lease in jeopardy and risk more people being evicted and becoming homeless. The “Warming House” is basically mattresses on a floor.
Here’s what the Salvation Army reports on the “Warming House”:
We have not had to deny anyone from Warming House (overflow shelter) since before 11/24/2009.
We are funded and able to best-serve between 14-16 individuals; as you can see by the info below, we have already gone over that capacity to avoid denials:
4/12 served 19 individuals (5 families)
4/13 served 12 individuals (4 families)
4/14 served 19 individuals (5 families)
4/15 served 22 individuals (6 families)
4/16 served 22 individuals (6 families)
4/17 served 14 individuals (4 families)
4/18 served 14 individuals (4 families)
FEELING A LITTLE CHEEKY
Perhaps the Salvation Army should sponsor a trip to Europe for the Mayor and Kathleen Falk and a bunch of non-profit lobbyists and they could tour homeless facilities that serve all the needs of the community? We could have a goal of reducing homelessness by 20% by 2020.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
BUT SERIOUSLY
Ok, actually we have a plan to eliminate homelessness that HUD forced us to create and then gave us no more money. I think it was supposed to be a 10 year plan, we created it in 2006, so we have 6 more years to accomplish it. Think we’ll make it?
