KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Today is the day a new emergency housing plan to help Kalamazoo’s homeless make it through this winter kicks in, and it comes none too soon after winter storms hit the area this weekend.
Beginning today, Ministry with Community’s daytime shelter will stay open through the night, providing 80 additional beds.
Shelter director Andrea Tramel says they will offer the extended hours through March 31st.
Funds have also been set aside to provide hotel rooms for the medically vulnerable for up to two weeks, should temperatures dip into single digits.
Rebecca Bergman and Heaven Simpson were once homeless and are now working to help those who remain without homes, and are thanking officials for the extra shelter.
Director Patrece Griffin says the Continuum of Care is also working on a five-year plan to find additional sources of funding and to continue the program past this winter.
Organizers expect the slots to fill up quickly and even this may not be enough to protect everyone who is homeless.
The funding, $750,000, is being provided by the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, and the Continuum of Care, which is part of the United Way of South Central Michigan.
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