HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Noel Lodge, Hutchinson’s only emergency homeless shelter here, will reopen Friday, according to Shara Gonzales, President and Executive Director of New Beginnings, who operate the shelter.
She says they pared back the budget for Noel to just a basic shelter, dropping some services, rent assistance and some cost of grant administration, leaving an annual budget of $84,000. That’s $7,000 a month, $231 a night and $15.40 per bed each night.
At the same time, they decided that it would be necessary to have at least three months of operational cost before they would be able to reopen the shelter doors, making $21,000 their goal. She says “in seven days, a group of dedicated individuals and community agencies and services raised $28,500.” So the shelter will reopen on Friday. One of the donors was the Hutchinson Community Foundation with a donation of $6,090 (shown above).
The shelter consists of two separate rooms with dorm-like settings for men and women with five beds in each one. Then they also have two rooms dedicated to families, one large and one small.
They also serve a meal in the evening thanks to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center and then a light breakfast in the morning with items donated by local churches.
Now even though the shelter will open for the next three months, Gonzales says they still need to raise money for the shelter. She says their efforts will center on an “adopt-a-month” strategy. She’s calling on churches, civic groups or organizations, businesses and even private individuals to maybe adopt one month out of the year and commit to providing the operational funds for that month.
She says for more information on this adopt-a-month strategy, you can call 620-314-8088.