By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
Fresh Start Emergency Shelter will seek funding from the City of Junction City for 2024 to help sustain operations. The request for $120,000 is on the city commission agenda Tuesday night.
Fresh Start Emergency Shelter is a 24-hour, temporary shelter that provides a safe place to sleep while individuals and families navigate their next step in finding housing. They allow them 30 days to get on their feet. If they comply with all our requests such as meeting with their Case Manager, searching for a job, making it to all their appointments as required for essential services, chores around the shelter, they can extend their stay at Fresh Start discretion, not to exceed 90 days.
For travelers that have found themselves stranded in Junction City for whatever reason, Fresh Start offers 48-hour shelter until they are able to repair their car or receive assistance to move on to where they are going.
According to Shelter Director Debbie Savage for the community that does not stay over-night in the shelter, but still need assistance, day services are provided, which include a meal, clothing, toiletries, a warm shower, and the ability to launder one’s clothing. This building has also been requested by the City to act as a temporary warming and/or cooling site as needed in the past.
According to information provided to the commission, since opening full time in February 2023, the Shelter has received 6,348 calls, have housed 112 people, which include 18 children with one or both parents, and which represent 90 individuals or family groups. For those residents, they have prepared or had available food for 6,348 meals.
In July they started logging the use of our day services. They have provided 47 meals, access to guests to do laundry 11 times, 34 showers, 19 clothes and/or hygiene kits, and 27 “other” services which could include transportation to appointments, meeting with a case manager, or other activities outside the service.
The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at 701 North Jefferson Street.
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From the same time frame, we have had expenses totaling: $202,256.96
Approximately $29,000 of the expenses came from getting our building ready for opening and repair of our HVAC system.