Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A local nonprofit group will try for a second time Wednesday to gain approval for an emergency homeless shelter.
Shawano Area Matthew 25 is looking to lease a vacant building at 213 E. Green Bay St. for the shelter. The building is owned by Shawano Municipal Utilities.
Though a conditional use permit for the shelter was recommended by the Shawano Plan Commission, the Common Council denied the permit in May, citing too many unanswered questions about the group’s policies and procedures and background checks.
SAM 25 has submitted a new proposal, along with a 28-page policies and procedures manual, that seeks to address those questions.
Several city officials in May said they wanted to see the group’s policies and procedures before granting a permit.
In particular, officials also wanted assurances that the shelter would have a zero tolerance policy for drug use and would conduct thorough background checks before accepting guests.
The policy manual states guests can be evicted for the use of drugs or alcohol and states each resident will undergo two background checks looking for warrants, past felonies and any history of child abuse. The checks will be conducted through online records of the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access and Wisconsin Department of Justice Sex Offender Registration websites.
Todd Raether, chairman of the board of the Shawano Area Community Foundation, said the foundation is prepared to help support the shelter through fundraising assistance or a gift if there is a positive vote from the council.
Raether said he plans to address the council at Wednesday’s meeting.
“We’re prepared to stand behind (SAM 25) to get this rolling,” he said. “They’re a good organization and what they’re proposing has merit.”
There were also some concerns raised in May about the building’s lack of shower facilities.
According to SAM 25, “Showers are not required, clients can do sponge baths to cleanse themselves. It may be possible to put in portable shower stalls in the future.”
Guests would be able to stay at the facility for a maximum of 30 days, though that could be extended. Stays would be strictly overnight, with no loitering on the premises between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Muffy Culhane, board president of SAM 25, told the council in May that there is a need for a homeless shelter in Shawano.
“There’s no doubt in my mind and hopefully anyone else’s that poverty is all around us in our area,” she said.
According to figures provided by SAM 25, 68 people were turned away by the Safe Haven Domestic Abuse Shelter in 2014 because they were not in an abuse situation and did not qualify.
Also, according to SAM 25, “Shawano School District identified 39 homeless students during the first part of the 2013-14 school year. SAFPARC (Shawano Area Food Pantry and Resource Center) served 24 homeless individuals in January through March 2015. Salvation Army funded 200 motel bed nights in the past year. St. Vincent de Paul provided 14 stays at Super 8 for 11 adults and five children from June, 2014 through June, 2015.”
SAM 25 is a 501(c)3 nonprofit group formed in 2013 to help those affected by poverty improve their circumstances and become self-sufficient.
The group says funding for the shelter will come from grants, foundations, community contributions, state and federal funding, in-kind donations, and volunteer hours.
Council member Rhonda Strebel and council President Woody Davis voted in favor of the conditional use permit in May. Council members Bob Kurkiewicz, Fred Ponschok, Sandy Steinke and John Hoeffs voted against.
Officials will reconsider the request at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St.