- As the indoor shelter season approaches, St. John's Ministries is going to continue housing homeless men and women in separate shelters
- St. John's Ministries Director of Community Engagement Steve Schauer said this will be the second year the non-profit splits men and women into separate shelters
- Schauer said last season, St. John's had more than 600 people in shelter
- The video above explains why St. John's will continue putting the men and women into separate shelters
GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — As the indoor shelter season approaches, St. John's Ministries is going to continue housing homeless men and women in separate shelters.
"Going forward, St. John's Ministries will always operate two shelters now to give the men and the women their own spaces to seek services shelter-related, but then also for forward moment so they can focus on themselves and become self-sufficient again," St. John's Ministries Director of Community Engagement Steve Schauer said.
Schauer said this will be the second year the non-profit splits men and women into separate shelters. He said going in this direction allows for women who may have been through a traumatic experience to share their stories together.
"Sometimes, there tends to be a male involved in the situation," Schauer said. "And by removing that aspect of it, they can have more success going forward in the future."
Every year, St. John's' shelters run from Nov. 1 through April 30.
"Last season, we had over 600 individuals in shelter," Schauer said. "187 of those were women."
The Green Bay Police Department tells NBC 26 splitting the shelters up has not impacted its resources for calls for service.
"We have a great working relationship with the police department," Schauer said.
Schauer said prior to last season, St. John's only had one shelter at 411 St. John St., and that building had both men and women. Now, it currently only houses men.
The women's shelter just opened a year ago and is on 700 E. Walnut St.
From Nov. 1, 2021 through April 30, 2022, police records show there were 187 calls for service at the St. John St. shelter.
The records show during that same time period last season, there were 250 police calls at the locations of both shelters: 118 for the men and 132 for the women.
Despite the uptick in police calls, a small percentage dealt with drugs and weapons, according to police records.
Records show two years ago, there were four sexual-related calls at the St. John St. shelter. Last season between the men's and women's shelters, there was just one, according to police records.
"But now that you have two locations, there's more opportunities for calls to be made," Schauer said. "Yes, the total number of calls has gone up, but we would look to some of the more pressing issues within that number."
Schauer said over the last couple years, St. John's has taken in 50 to 60 more people than previous years.
He said having two separate shelters will help keep people safe.
"Women around other women, they feel safer," Schauer said. "They feel more loved."
St. John's says its two shelters are last resort options.
The non-profit does have two, year-round daytime resource centers: The Micah Center and Wellspring. The Wellspring building is connected to the women's shelter.
