In the winter of last year, Resurrection Lutheran Church was ready to serve approximately 45 to 50 people in its warm shelter every evening. The church often fed more. One night, there were 70 people sleeping in the church.
Pastor Karen Perkins said they need more financial assistance from the city in order to operate the shelter for warming this winter.
” style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Last year because of this enormous increase in the population, we could not meet the requirements of the contract” Perkins said. “There were instances when it was really hard to keep track of .”
Perkins says the congregation requires $290,000 to fully fill the shelter with warm food. The church is waiting to find out what the decision of the city is to contribute the amount. While city officials continue to talk in conjunction with churches, they’re looking at the possibility of the possibility of a Capital Transit bus.
The Deputy manager Robert Barr shared the idea during an Juneau Assembly meeting last week.
“There is a number of communities which should the situation get worse, they will take an public transit bus, leave it idle for the night and keep the heater on and let those who are in a position to not be able to access another shelter in town to remain comfortable,” Barr said.
A realistic number
The contract for last year’s $200,000 allowed the church to cover one part-time manager and bookkeeper during the day, and two staff members who were full-time at night. However, when the church saw that more customers contacted them more than they anticipated, they required an additional staff member.
It’s a matter of style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”There’s the notion that we let people take drugs in the area and that we permit them to drink there but we don’t allow it,” Perkins said. “But we don’t also look people over upon their entry as a way of respecting their dignity. However, if there’s excessively many individuals, the staff doesn’t detect it. It got to the moment where we had to keep the security of those who were in the area. .”
Recently, the congregation of the church was able to pass a narrow vote in opposition to the application for the running of the shelter for warming this winter. Perkins noted that some members were worried about the vandalism, loitering and property damage that occurred this year.
“That is less likely to occur if the numbers are better managed,” she said.
Perkins says the church has come up with ways to accomplish this. With donations, they started serving hot meals which allowed people to rest. After the planning commission’s approval they extended their hours to allow people to remain inside until buses began operating. This required staff to work late.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Part of our model is based on respect and cooperation,” Perkins said. “People are more likely to cooperate in certain circumstances. .”
Perkins is looking forward to seeing the conditions included within the terms of the agreement with city officials.
She explained that last year as a result of the increase of patrons in the beginning season The city also gave Church an extra $40,000 in order to cover an additional staff member which brought the total amount for the last season to $240,000.
Perkins wants the contract this year to include enough money to pay for an additional staff member to work a couple of days per week, and also make the manager’s position full-time. Perkins believes that the changes would make the total approximately $290,000.
“We would like to have a number that’s reasonable in this particular year” she added.
‘The last-ditch option’
Barr stated that he’s discussing with church leaders ways to modify the warming shelter agreement to improve its appeal to the congregation.
He declined to discuss the current contract negotiations however he did say he expected the cost to rise this year. The money for the warming shelter will be from the city’s operating funds as well as the federal Department of Health grant.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We must be able to balance the quality of services we’re seeking with being fiscally responsible using the money that taxpayers pay,” Barr said. “That’s often difficult with only one service provider .”
Every every year, the City solicits proposals from groups interested in operating the shelter for warming. This year, no one submitted a proposal.
The shelter has been relocated and has had different providers since its beginning in a building that was demolished located on Whittier Avenue downtown in 2017. St. Vincent de Paul began operating it at their community center located on Teal Street in the Mendenhall Valley in the year 2019, but relocated it to The Juneau Arts and Culture Center as the pandemic started. Then, in 2021 Resurrection Lutheran Church took the reins for St. Vincent de Paul after they decided to end their contract.
“span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Finding the space needed for each kind of use at the moment is difficult,” Barr said. “Finding space specifically for this type of usage is especially difficult. .”
The city bus, which is now decommissioned, will have seating for just 35 people, and there are no beds. Barr stated that he believes the use of a bus as a shelter for warming could lead people seeking out alternative alternatives.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The bus choice is the last resort. It’s not the option we’d like to pick,” Barr said. “But I believe that if that’s the only option, we’d see more people opting to make use of different sheltering options accessible that is more suitable than this .”
Fully loaded
However, Mariya Lovishchuk, the executive director of the Juneau’s soup kitchen and shelter for the homeless she says the other sheltering options are limited. The Glory Hall shelter the entire 43 rooms as well as 12 bunks for overflow are filled to capacity.
“I do not remember the last time we weren’t totally filled,” she said.
Glory Hall staff try to relocate residents from the shelter to permanent housing as quickly as they are able to. However, the 64 units of the Glory Hall’s Forget Me Not Manor are also fully occupied. They’re currently working on adding 28 rooms in the Forget-Me-Not Manor and building seven new units in downtown, but they’ll not be done in time for winter.
Lovishchuk says there’s usually an increase in those seeking shelter services when they find out that Mill Campground closes in the autumn. This year, the Mill Campground is scheduled to close on October. 16.
“We’re working extremely intensely right now along with the community partner to ensure that every person in our shelter who needs alternative option that is more suitable whether it’s permanent supportive housing, or be it transitional housing, or whatever – is there before winter arrives to ensure that we have the most space possible to be open,” she said.
While waiting, Perkins hopes a revised contract will permit the church to run the shelter in a safe manner. If the church is able to reach some sort of agreement with city officials, she’ll be sure to submit it back in front of the members for a second vote.
“Even although it’s a contract for city services and a secular event but the truth is that we perform it out of the faith we have,” the woman said.
The next gathering of the congregation will be held in September. 10.
