BELLOWS FALLS — The season for the Greater Falls Warming Shelter ended when the emergency site for the homeless closed in mid-April, but the work continues as the shelter's board looks to the future.
“We are actively looking for a better space,” says Louise Luring, GFWS board president. “We are also working closely with Our Place Drop in Center to find a space we can share because we already share so many resources and clients. We welcome input from community members who might have suggestions.”
The shelter can be reached through its Facebook page or at [email protected].
Luring explains that, from its opening in mid-November at a site in North Walpole, N.H., the shelter housed nine women and 31 men, for a total of 1,006 bed nights. More than a quarter of the guests stayed for only one night, and two-thirds of them stayed for two weeks or less, not always consecutively. Only two guests were housed more than 100 nights.
“These stats show us that the folks who need emergency housing are in a constant state of flux and find it difficult to make permanent arrangements,” Luring says. “They have local connections but can't depend on family or friends putting them up consistently. We fill the gap for many of them on a night-to-night basis.”
Luring stresses that many of the guests have local ties.
“Contrary to what is heard in the community, these are not people coming from outside to take advantage of our 'luxurious' accommodations. Many of them grew up here or have local connections and family. They want to stay near their families, including children, in some cases. They are sometimes battling alcohol[ism], mental illness, health issues or drug abuse, which makes it hard for their friends and family to accept them into their homes.”
In other cases, she says, unemployment, coupled with health issues, makes it difficult for guests to raise rent for an apartment. She explains that most people don't realize landlords require three months' rent up front.
“That could be more than $2,000. A number of our guests have found permanent housing through programs such as Pathways to Housing, but after the shelter closed, a few were forced to camp out while they waited to hear about housing,” Luring says.
The shelter was recently awarded a $13,000 Emergency Services grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity to help it meet its $39,000 yearly budget. The balance of its funds comes from personal and business donations and fundraisers.
Greater Falls Warming Shelter is staffed seven days a week, with about 50 volunteers covering the two nightly shifts or providing meals. It works closely with Our Place Drop in Center, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), Youth Services, local police departments, churches, town governments, and other social service providers to deal with guests' issues - and to move them from homelessness to stable housing.
It is currently raising funds by selling note cards featuring a detail from a mural created for the shelter by artist Jamie Townsend and the youth of the First Universalist Parish of Chester. The cards are available at Village Square Booksellers, the office of Dr. Vernon Temple in Westminster, Walpole Artisans, and the Village Market in Saxtons River.