GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Since 1994, New Community Shelter has been a fixture of Green Bay, serving those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity in Brown County. Every single day, 365 days a year, the shelter is there to help those in need of a hot meal and a roof over their head.
New Community Shelter is the only emergency shelter in Brown County open year-round that serves homeless adult men and women. The shelter provides both emergency shelter as well as transitional living for those working to live on their own. The transitional housing includes single-occupancy apartments with a maximum stay of two years, along with programs designed to resolve the issues preventing their transition to permanent housing.
“It’s a great program for people who have addiction backgrounds, bad rental histories,” said Terri Refsguard, the CEO of New Community Shelter.
In addition, the shelter pairs each resident with a case manager who can help connect them to the shelter's many services designed to help them work through barriers like addiction and mental health issues as they work toward becoming self-sufficient.
“They’re set up with a case manager to get their goals in place and their work plan and they work with the case manager to accomplish those things,” Refsguard said.
Another one of the shelter's programs that stands out in the community is its community meal program. Every single night, the shelter serves a meal to any adult or child in need.
“We feed anyone in our community who would otherwise go hungry," Refsguard said. "That’s individuals, that’s seniors, that’s parents with children, single parents.”
The shelter serves around 200 meals every day and also serves lunches on holidays and weekends. The meal program is supported by 175 volunteer groups. While the number of volunteers each night may vary, they always get the job done. The shelter has never missed a meal.
Keith Lindstrom has volunteered at the shelter with Calvary Lutheran Church for over 20 years. He says he’s seen firsthand the difference the meal program can make for those facing food insecurity.
“You get a lot of thank yous here," Lindstrom said. "You come here on a Tuesday and you get 100 or 200 thank yous and people are very appreciative and that makes all of us feel very good.”
The entire shelter depends on the generosity of the community, from volunteers to donations. While the shelter receives some government funding, the majority of its funding comes from community donors.
“We change lives here, we save lives some days, and without this community we would never be able to do the things we do," Refsguard said.
Every $250 donated will help provide one night of meals at the shelter. You can donate at the shelter's Give BIG Green Bay page from noon February 23rd to noon February 24th and anytime on their website.
The shelter is also in need of several items for its residents and meal program. You can view the shelter's full wishlist here.
