Juneau’s emergency shelter for cold weather will likely be managed through St. Vincent de Paul in a municipally-owned warehouse in Thane just one mile away from downtown.
Resurrection Lutheran Church ran the shelter for the past two years in its Church in the Flats district downtown. However, this summer, the congregation was twice voted not to operate it again. The other organizations didn’t apply due to the lack of space.
In another vote on Sunday morning, congregation agreed to the shelter by a single vote. But the deputy city manager Robert Barr said he’d already worked on a possible alternative in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul.
“Since Resurrection Lutheran has rejected this twice and was evidently an extremely narrow vote on Sunday, I’ve been working together with St. Vincent’s on a backup strategy,” he said.
Barr claimed that the city’s leaders are working on plans to implement the Thane plans — a move that Resurrection Lutheran Pastor Karen Perkins declared “baffling” for her. She said that the location of the warehouse could make it difficult for those who need to get services at the warehouse.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I was shocked with the outcome, and was disappointed, angry, and upset,” she said. “And concerned because in the end, all that is important is how effectively it tackle the issue .”
Perkins stated that the warehouse is more suitable than the idle municipal buses, that Barr suggested as an “last-ditch alternative.” However, since their congregation is for, Perkins thinks the city should accept their offer. Perkins says there’s still plenty of time to make the church ready and it’s a more welcoming, better friendly site as opposed to the former warehouse.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Of course if this is the way things work out, we’ll try whatever we can to assist,” Perkins said. “But I would like to see someone change their mind, because this isn’t a good idea. .”
Transportation
The warehouse is located a mile away from downtown library. It is surrounded by industrial structures as well as parking spaces. Perkins fears that the distance to the city’s core will deter people from using the shelter in the first place, particularly if they try to access the shelter on the foot.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”That road due to the way it runs, is subject to plenty of wind. There are even narrow sidewalks and likely to be covered by berms when there’s snow,” she said. “Walking there could be risky.”
Barr stated that the location could make it more difficult to transport. This is one reason why the city initially rejected the warehouse. But he also said St. Vincent de Paul as well as Glory Hall, Glory Hall, police and the fire department’s CARES program might aid in getting individuals to access the building.
However, Perkins is concerned that those who normally use the warm shelter – who often suffer from chronic sleep loss – might be unable to get access to that transportation. Perkins says this is particularly true when people are experiencing being homeless for the first-time.
“I believe it’s a myth that everyone will use the services that you provide these,” she said.
Barr stated that the new location might be able to address some of the issues residents faced during the time that Resurrection Lutheran ran the shelter in the past two winters. Many residents and congregation members were concerned about loitering and vandalism in this church. It is situated in an area that is close to Harborview Elementary School.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Thane has a few advantages over other fonts,” Barr said. “Most important is the fact that it’s not situated in a residential community and is not near schools. .”
However, Perkins noted that people have become comfortable with the services provided by the church. They also have a food pantry every week. She explained that having the warm shelter in a community could help to ensure consistency for those who use it.
It’s a span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”It’s not harmful to communities in the way that most people think it is,” she added. “Having the ability to keep it out of communities does not result in more positive outcomes for the patrons .”
A provider network is a component of
Dave Ringle, executive director of Juneau’s St. Vincent de Paul chapter, was drafting the potential contract on Wednesday morning. However, in an interview he stated that they’ll maintain the facility until 9 p.m. until seven a.m. A bus from the city will pick up people in the early morning hours and transport them to Glory Hall or other locations.
Ringle stated that his organization has strong ties to other providers of homeless services in Juneau connections that could assist in connecting warming shelter users with housing that is more stable.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I would anticipate, when we were to reach more than 40-50 people we would have meetings with service providers, analyze the numbers, and determine what alternatives are available to those other services to which certain people could be able to go,” he said.
St. Vincent de Paul, the Glory Hall and AWARE have community navigators that help connect individuals with medical, housing and other social services.
It’s a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe that this is likely to create a huge impact,” Ringle said. “The aim is to work together to keep shelter numbers in check. .”
St. Vincent de Paul has affordable apartment buildings as well as transitional and supportive housing across the city. The majority of their housing is only for seniors, which are a large part of their clients, Ringle said.
Capacity and staffing
Ringle stated that he’s going to petition the city for some flexibility with regards to the conditions which force the shelter to be opened. The shelter must remain open when temperatures are forecast to fall below 32 degrees. Ringle stated he’d prefer to be able to open when temperatures are a bit warmer, too.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”We will present an annual budget to the city, as the city decides if we will be open all days of the week,” he said.
Ringle believes that the budget will be in the range of $240,000 to $250,000. It would cover at minimum three employees. Resurrection Lutheran leaders had said they’d need around $290,000 for the operation of the shelter along with a usage fee for repairs and maintenance. They had planned to have three employees in place, along with a full-time administrator.
Ringle stated that they also had three staff members at the time that St. Vincent de Paul was the operator of the warming shelter in the armory from 2020 until 2021. The building was shut down after Juneau Arts and Humanities Council began using it again. Juneau Arts and Humanities Council returned to it.
It’s a good idea to have a style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”If there’s an emergency, three people is the most secure way to handle the situation,” Ringle said. “We received great praise from Juneau police as well as Capital City Fire and Rescue about this and we’re hoping to try and improve on the connections we made while we ran the program prior to .”
Barr told the media that they are planning to offer 35-50 people per night in the shelter for warming. However, Ringle added that the building is large enough to hold more people, if required.
“Another benefit of having a huge area is that it will give our guests more room and also eliminate some conflicts and disputes that could arise when there’s people crammed into a smaller space,” Ringle said.
The warehouse is equipped with heating as well as insulation, and electrical power. A portion of it is used for processing elections, while the remainder is used to store items. The city has to take away the items stored in the building and install bathrooms, which could be port-a-potties. Barr said he’d like to be able to finish the work before the close of October.
The city has cots available for the shelter that is warm. Ringle added that St. Vincent de Paul will be providing food during the night and in the early morning. As the date of opening draws nearer, Ringle said they’ll likely take donations of blankets, coats and hats.
Juneau Assembly Juneau Assembly still has to decide whether to approve the shelter’s use of the warehouse the shelter. The next Assembly session is October. 23.
