MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The Manitowoc Warming Shelter prepares for its most important time of year.
- Steven Gove says it's either a stay at the Manitowoc Warming Shelter or a night on the street
- Warming Shelter Director, Pastor Matt Sauer says they can only take in 12 people due to fire codes
- The shelter is aiming for a $1.2 million expansion to double the number of beds
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Steven Gove is dealing with homelessness and this below-zero weather is life-threatening. A lifelong Manitowoc resident, Steven has been homeless since August.
"You're basically trying to get out of the cold anyway that you can,” said Gove. “When it was warmer it was a lot easier. It's hard to find a place out of the wind and the cold. The cold is the main thing."
In frigid weather, Steven says it's either the Manitowoc Warming Shelter or a night outside.
"It's hard when you don't have a place to go,” Steven told me.
But First Presbyterian Church Pastor Matt Sauer, who runs the warming shelter on North 8th Street, says they can only take 12 people a night due to fire codes. This means some are turned away.
"14, 15, sometimes 20 people in line for a place here,” said Gove.
Pastor Sauer says it's an issue they're trying to fix. He's aiming for an expansion that will double the beds from 12 to 24.
"These are our neighbors and nobody deserves to be outside freezing at night,” Sauer says. “Unfortunately at times, freezing to death."
The expansion would cost around $1.2 million, as Sauer hopes to raise the funds through the community. Just today he received a $10,000 donation from the Reis Foundation.
But for now, the capacity is 12.
"There are a lot more homeless than people think,” Steven said.
Even with the need, and the overwhelming stakes, you wouldn't be able to find discouragement in Steven.
"I feel blessed actually,” he said. “There’s really no way to describe the feeling of having somewhere to go when there’s no other place.”
