There could be more than just a warming shelter coming to Manitowoc in the future.
Last week, the Common Council approved extending the Manitowoc Warming Shelter’s Conditional Use Permit for one more year.
The original purpose was to allow for a sprinkler system to be installed in the church to bring the shelter up to code, but as Pastor Matt Saur tells Seehafer News, it means the shelter can start to look for a more permanent home.
Pastor Sauer said the new building would have features the church doesn’t, including “On-site showers, on-site laundry as well as a kitchen, plus room for twenty-four to thirty individuals.:
He also noted. “The possibility once that’s all in place about year-round, and not just during the winter.”
The plan could also include transitional apartments.
“So, individuals that would come out of already a program-based thing, meaning someplace like the Haven, Hope House, InCourage, or other managed programs through Lakeshore CAP, could find an apartment,” Saur explained. “Because right now they have trouble finding them.”
But the plan would allow people to stay around for only a few years so they can help to transition out on their own.
The warming shelter has a property in mind, but they need to negotiate with the owner.
The future of helping the homeless could also include other groups like the Haven bringing the shelter into their 501c3.
Saur thanks the council and the city’s residents for all they’ve done so far to address homelessness.