Community Missions working to turn cold weather shelter into 24-hour facility
By Chris Fortune
Leadership at the local St. Joseph, Mo., homeless shelter are looking to provide a long-term solution to the growing needs of the homeless population.
Community Missions already provides resources and shelter to the homeless community, however, Executive Director Rachael Bittiker is working to expand the services at the cold weather shelter, 700 Olive St., by keeping the building open every day.
“We really have to come together to work towards a common goal to help those individuals, but also help our community grow and sustain and thrive on things that we’re investing into our community,” Bittiker said.
The cold weather shelter cost Community Missions $62,000 to operate for 50 days last year. Keeping it open year-round would cost a little over $700,000 annually to operate, similar to a day center for people to shower, eat and have access to case manager services.
“That’s a lot of money,” Bittiker said. “But this is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, with the capacity to help those that are on the street living.”
Community Missions staff counted 167 different people who came in to use the cold weather shelter last year. Bittiker said homelessness continues to increase across the country, and solving the issue will require a joint effort.
Bittiker spoke with the Buchanan County Commissioners on Thursday about potential funding for the 24-hour shelter project, and these fundraising efforts may extend to the City of St. Joseph and Chamber of Commerce.
“We don’t want to invest a lot of money into a place that people won’t come to,” Director Bittiker said. “Part of the solution to this is we want people to invest in our community, not just new businesses coming in, but things like the Discovery Center that’s getting ready to open. We don’t want to build something, and then people do not want to come because they’re afraid to come to the environment in which it was built in.”
Bittiker explained that she wants to work toward a solution that doesn’t just apply a bandage to homelessness. A 24-hour shelter may not reach all homeless individuals who are reluctant to receive help, but she wants to help build their trust.
“This isn’t a fix-all solution, but we’re hoping that it fixes enough to make an impact on our community so we can see change moving forward,” Director Bittiker concluded.
