Beds at St. John's Ministries Men's shelter. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As we inch closer to the winter months, shelters like St. John’s Ministries in Green Bay are gearing up to give homeless individuals a place to stay overnight.
The shelter is getting ready for its emergency shelter season, which runs from November through April.
Last year, they were unable to open their women’s shelter on time due to staffing shortages. Come next month, St. John’s has every intention on opening that location on time.
“However, we are in that crunch time and we’re still looking for eight to 10 employees that are willing to come in and put their hearts out for other individuals,” said Tony Schneider, director of community engagement for St. John’s Ministries.
Filling these positions is a need, but St. John’s adds the situation is not as dire as last year. Having both the men’s and women’s shelters opened will be key, as St. John’s is expecting to see more people seeking their services.
“We’re sheltering 40% more individuals just over the summer months than we were last year, so we’re expecting the number of individuals needing emergency shelter come Nov. 1 to increase as well,” said Schneider.
In the past shelter season, from November 2023 to April 2024, a total of 662 people were sheltered — up 10% from the previous season. 65% of them were staying with St. John’s for one month or less.
Case managers like Tameika Hughes work closely with all people who come to St. John’s.
“A lot of the times, our guests are coming to us because they have barriers with maybe mental health and AODA, and we do see that on the rise,” said Hughes. “They have family, they have loved ones and the majority of them, their stories are not so outstanding that it couldn’t be one of ours as well, but they’re human beings,” she added.
St. John’s emergency shelter season begins Nov. 1.
For more information on how to donate or volunteer with St. John’s Ministries, click here.
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