In early September, the City of Lawrence sent a call for local organizations to assist with operations at the Winter Emergency Shelter (WES) this year. Ideally, the City is seeking community organizations and groups to volunteer for repeating shifts at the WES throughout the season; for example, a group that could sign on to have volunteers at the shelter every Tuesday throughout its operation.
Since that request, one community organization has volunteered to cover weekly shifts, which leaves six nights uncovered. The City would like to thank the organization that has already volunteered, The Lawrence United Methodist Church, for their assistance in keeping this vital community resource operational for the coming winter; however, more organizations are needed. If more organizations do not volunteer, the City may not be able to open the WES this season.
The City is once again providing the facility and some staff support for the shelter, but they will need active volunteers from the community to keep it operating on a nightly basis. Additionally, through the City’s ongoing outreach, there is now a sufficient list of individual volunteers who organizations could call upon to supplement if they find themselves short of volunteers some weeks.
Volunteer shifts will be from 7-11 p.m., 11 p.m. – 5 a.m., and 5 – 8 a.m. The WES is scheduled to be open from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day from December 1, 2022, through March 12, 2023. The shelter provides a safe, secure and warm environment when the weather is life threatening to people who would otherwise have to spend the night on the streets. It will once again be located at the Community Building, 115 E 11th St. It has a capacity of 75 people per night.
If you are a community group that is interested in participating or would like to learn more about volunteer expectations, please email the homeless programs team at homelessprograms@lawrenceks.org. For planning purposes and to make the Winter Emergency Shelter successful this year, the City was initially hoping to have all volunteer organizations accounted for by the end of October.
The Winter Emergency Shelter is one offering in the City’s approach to supporting those who are unsheltered in our community. The short-term support site in North Lawrence will also continue to be open throughout the winter months. The City is also working to identify a long-term plan and has committed to beginning the process of moving into a long-term support location for the unsheltered community by March 12, 2023, which is the end date for the Winter Emergency Shelter.
For more information on homeless programs, please visit the City website, lawrenceks.org/pds/homeless-programs, which includes a new FAQs section with answers to some of our community’s most common questions regarding homelessness.
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