LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Funding has been finalized to keep the low-barrier shelter at Wayside Christian Mission open for a full year.
Nina Moseley, the director of Wayside, said Friday she received word that of the total funds approved in the budget to help local homeless shelters, Metro Council approved $200,000 to sustain the low-barrier shelter through June 2020.
In December 2018, Wayside opened the shelter with 100 beds in the gym. Metro Council set aside $100,000 of surplus funds from the city’s budget to keep it running for six months. In that time, Moseley said they served 790 different people.
“There are a lot of folks who, up until now, have been staying on the streets, because they can’t get into shelters for one reason or another,” Moseley said.
The low-barrier shelter specifically lowers barriers for people to have a safe place to stay overnight. People that sometimes are not able to find shelter in other places are allowed in, like those with pets, couples, people who are high or drunk and people who have been banned from other places.
There are storage containers, so clients can bring bags and suitcases in with them. And the shelter provides kennels and food for pets.
All clients have to go through security when they check in between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day. No weapons, drugs, alcohol or tobacco products are allowed inside. Unless someone has a note for a doctor’s appointment, AA meeting, or church function, people cannot casually leave and come back into the shelter once they’re checked in. Moseley said creating this rule cut down on any criminal activity entering the shelter.
If someone has a history of violence, that person must be interviewed by a Wayside staff member before being allowed to stay.
Moseley said the low-barrier shelter has been successful in its first six months, and she expects that to continue. It provides more than just temporary shelter for people. She said it’s helping change lives.
“Fourteen families have been able to move up into our actual family shelter, where they can have more intense care,” she said. “And six of those families have permanent housing now.”
More than 100 people have taken advantage of job therapy program and a recovery program.
“That shows they are willing to make positive changes in their lifestyle and hopefully move on to find permanent housing,” Moseley said.
To learn more about the low barrier shelter or to volunteer with Wayside, click here.
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