MEXICO, Mo. — Room at the Inn, the Audrain County emergency winter shelter, will not open its doors every night during December. This marks the first time it has limited operation since opening two years ago.
The Audrain County Shelter and Resource Coalition said the decision to only open the county's emergency winter shelter during dangerous winter conditions in December was driven by funding and staffing shortages.
Executive Director Ra'vae Moore said it costs $30,000 to run the shelter each winter, but this year the organization has only raised about half that amount.
“Economically, it's been a tough year for everybody,” Moore said. “A lot of organizations are feeling the same crunch that we are financially, and unfortunately, we had to make a really tough decision.”
The coalition made the decision to focus its resources on January and February, when temperatures are coldest.
“It takes around $10,000 a month,” Moore said. “So we decided, temperature-wise, it would probably be better to be open in January and February. So we had to make that decision.”
Until then, the shelter will open only during extreme cold and severe snow, including when temperatures fall below 27 degrees or wind chills below 20 degrees, or during winter weather advisories.
Even then, the shelter can open only if there enough volunteers are available.
“It’s absolutely crucial,” Moore said. “Without volunteers, we won’t be able to open at all, regardless of what the weather does.”
A volunteer drive is scheduled for this Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at the shelter for those interested in helping.
“They can volunteer. They can spread the word that we need help. They can always donate if they want to,” Moore said.
Moore added that homelessness doesn’t always look like people imagine.
“They’re not the homeless like you see in the movies and on TV,” she said. “They’re real people. They’re from here. They’re families. There are babies, there are older folks. Some of them have jobs, they just don’t have a place to live.”
Last year, the shelter helped 27 people transition out of homelessness. Moore said the shelter offers more than just a warm place to sleep; it provides people with a chance to rebuild.
“By having this shelter here during the winter, we’re giving them a warm place to sleep, a safe place to sleep, a hot meal to eat that they may not get otherwise,” Moore said. “While they’re here, we try to help them get to the root of why they’re homeless, and then try to get them out of homelessness.”
For people like John Fulton, the shelter has been life-changing.
“This place was here when I needed them, and they provided food to help me get my job back,” Fulton said. “I’m grateful for them. The shelter needs to be open. You got a lot of people out on the streets, and a lot of them ain’t bad people. Just things get bad.”
Fulton said community involvement can be a big help.
“Coming to work here and volunteering, that’d be a good thing. You meet a lot of different people,” Fulton said. “The shelter needs to be open for the people out on the streets. Because, like I said, not everybody does something wrong to be out there.”
The shelter, which operates from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., plans to return to its regular schedule in January and February, depending on available funding.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can contact Ra’Vae Moore at 573-567-5160 or ravae@acsrc.mo.org.
