Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
The Hope House Homeless Shelter will be holding two community meetings Monday to address questions and concerns about their effort to provide shelter for those homeless in the community.
The meetings will be held at the First United Methodist Church, located at 401 Quincy Street in Hancock, from 1-3pm and from 6-8pm.
A large group of “special guests” will be attending to help answer questions that the community and local churches may have on the operation of the shelter and what it takes to become a Host Church.
Church Coordinators from the rotating shelters in Marquette, Escanaba and Iron Mountain will share their experience of hosting the shelter in their church and community. Marquette just completed 10 years, Escanaba 5 years and Iron Mountain 1 year.
A Data Analyst/HMIS System Administrator from Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness will be here to explain the homeless numbers in Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw Counties and how the rotating shelters in the U.P. are actually serving the great majority of their community residents, and most of the non-residents are from neighboring U.P. counties and not from other areas.
A Housing Resource Manager from the Community Action Agency Alger-Marquette will answer questions on the limitations of funding for homeless, stipulated by HUD. The homeless are in need of an emergency shelter, like Hope House, to have a warm safe place to stay while navigating the hurdles within the system.
Many of our local churches who have been considering becoming host churches with Hope House have been invited. They are looking to find a total of six who will join with them to provide the rotating schedule for this winter season.
They are also in a final critical stage of their fundraising campaign. They need to raise an additional $2,000 for the mattresses and storage totes and other supplies that need to be ordered by early October to be here by the end of October to be ready for their opening of the season on November 1, 2017.
Information for this article contributed by John E Niemela, President/CEO of Hope House.
