On Thursday, March 12, a group of Grace members had the privilege of touring the new men’s shelter with Linette Rhodes, from the City of Madison Community Development and Karla Thennes, Executive Director of Porchlight. Located on Bartillon Dr. on Madison’s east side, the purpose-built shelter is the culmination of years of planning and advocacy. From 1984 to 2020, Grace Church hosted a drop in shelter for men in our basement with overflow shelters at St. John’s Lutheran Church and First Methodist Church. At the beginning of the pandemic, the city took responsibility for locating and providing adequate shelter for unhoused men and began planning for a permanent shelter. Over the past six years, the temporary shelter has moved several times but the permanent facility will open later this year. 

I was impressed with the shelter layout and design and the care that had obviously been taken in thinking about what was needed and how to accommodate guests. Ms. Rhodes mentioned that part of their planning process included input from guests and a priority for trauma-informed care. Guests will have lockers and a reserved bed which will offer some certainty and stability. In the past, there was 90-night limit on guests’ length of stay. That was ended in 2020 but guests will have to demonstrate that they are making efforts to find permanent housing.

There remain challenges. The population of unhoused people has increased dramatically over the last six years. When the shelter was at Grace, it served at the most 150-160 on the coldest nights of the year. The temporary shelter has been averaging over 350 guests but the capacity for the new shelter is only 250. The County is currently seeking proposals for a temporary shelter to operate during the winter months. In addition, currently the shelter will be open overnight. It lacks the funding required to operate 24 hours 7 days a week. There is a private-sector effort to raise the necessary funds for fulltime operation: Shelter Friends of Dane County.

I will admit that it was quite emotional for me to tour the new facility. Remembering what Grace’s shelter was like: the darkness of a church basement, the cramped facilities, the lineup of men waiting for intake in bad weather, the lack of access for people with mobility issues. All of that and more had burdened me over the years. But I also remembered all of those people who advocated in vain for changes through that time. There was also the hard work of thousands of volunteers who served meals and the dedicated staff. In 2018, a group of Grace members had begun working on building momentum toward a new shelter. I and city staff, homeless advocates, and civic leaders visited Higher Ground in St. Paul, MN in 2019, a purpose-built shelter operated by Catholic Charities that helped us imagine what a new shelter might look like. 7 years later, that dream is coming to fruition. I’m grateful to all who worked so hard to make it a reality, especially city staff and elected officials who made it possible.

Some other photos:

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