Shelter gets funding for expansion

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This article was published 27/06/2019 (2392 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Samaritan House Ministries is set to go ahead with a planned expansion of its Safe and Warm shelter after Brandon City Council voted to give the downtown-based charity $69,000 on Wednesday evening.

Council voted unanimously in a closed-door session to give the charity the money to renovate its winter-time shelter and allow it to stay open longer in the mornings.

Samaritan House executive director John Jackson said he was “elated” after hearing the news at Wednesday’s meeting.

“I think that the City of Brandon has demonstrated great leadership in their decision to support this cause and that it will have a strong impact on providing solutions to homelessness in Brandon. … It’s a good feeling.”

The shelter provides a warm place for homeless people to sleep at night from Nov. 1 to March 31 each year. The shelter saw a dramatic increase in use during the 2018-19 season, sheltering more people for nearly three times as many nights as the previous year.

The money will allow the charity to go ahead with phase one of its planned renovations. This includes building a wall separating the shelter area from the food bank and increasing the number of people it can sleep. The shelter can house 15 people overnight as it is now, but the money will allow it to safely sleep up to 25 people.

Jackson said the renovations will also allow people to stay later in the morning. Currently, they have to leave at 8 a.m. so the food bank can begin operations at 8:30 a.m., but after phase one is complete they will be able to stay until around 10 a.m.

This will result in the “immediate benefit” of sheltering transient and homeless people in the mornings until after other services open for the day. People won’t have to wander downtown looking for a warm place in the early mornings.

“It’s going to mean a future in which there are more resources for them, it will eventually lead to an extension in the times we’re open. … But of course, that’s going to be pending. If we’re open for longer then we need more money to hire the staff.”

The entirety of phase one renovations will cost approximately $89,000. Samaritan House already has $20,000 set aside in savings, but went to city council on Wednesday evening for help with the remaining $69,000.

Phase two of the expansion, which is set to start between 2020 and 2021, involves opening the shelter earlier in the year and keeping it open later. With the expansion, the plan is to keep it open for one month longer on each end. It also involves general improvements around the shelter to improve the quality of the space.

Jackson made the argument to council that the Safe and Warm shelter helps divert people from other more expensive services, like the hospital or jail. In the winter especially it is more likely for people to get injured, which takes up the resources of paramedics and police.

“What we’re investing in is a resource towards the resolution of long-term social issues downtown,” he said. “If we respond well, I believe this will bring an increased economic return. And besides … that, helping others is the right thing to do and continues to enhance the dignity of our community.”

The intention is to begin construction on the renovations by July 31 and finish by the middle of September — meaning the expansion would be in place in time for the shelter’s 2019 opening later in the fall.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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