Spectrum opens youth homeless shelter in church

When a local organization dedicated to helping homeless youth wanted to open a temporary shelter throughout the winter, it turned to the Catholic Church--and has since seen the ten beds filled almost every night. 

On a cold Saturday evening, as parishioners filtered out of the church following the 4 p.m. Mass, Will Towne set up ten cots in the hall of St. Joseph's Co-Cathedral, which is open to homeless youth, aged 18 to 24, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. the next morning. 

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Towne, who oversees the warming shelter for Spectrum Youth and Family Services, said once the word got out about the shelter, the beds have almost always been filled. 

The shelter opened in early November, and has served approximately 18 different people, Towne said, and added that there are many factors that lead a young person to sleeping on the streets.  

"Just because someone's homeless doesn't mean anything," Towne said. Most of the youth have jobs, he said, and some are in school. 

Mark Redmond, the executive director of Spectrum Youth and Services, said the organization decided last spring it needed more beds for homeless youth this winter after last year's cold season left the organization's existing shelter full every night. 

Even after the addition of the 10 beds, Towne said they don't always have the capacity to give everyone a place to sleep. If they're forced to turn someone away, he said, they "game plan" with the person to find a solution, whether that's finding an emergency motel voucher or a friend's couch to sleep on. 

Spectrum applied for state funds to open the temporary shelter, but was rejected in a "competitive process," Redmond said. Instead, the organization turned to private donors to fund the $130,000 needed to open the shelter. 

Redmond said the organization has successfully raised $110,000, and is hoping to secure donations to cover the additional $20,000. 

Operating the shelter has gone smoothly, said Father Lance Harlow. 

The church had to "rearrange some things," he said, but once the parishioners found out about the shelter, they were eager to help by providing food for the youth. 

"These are not scary people," Harlow said. "I had some misgivings at first, but they're teens." 

Some of the youth who frequent the shelter have built up a rapport with him, he said, and will go to him to talk about life, or show him their bicycles, something he said he found rewarding as many lack stable adult influences. 

Burlington also has a winter warming shelter for adults that has been full most nights since opening on Nov. 1, Kim Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Community Health Centers of Burlington, said last month. 

Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @jess_aloe