room at the inn

Plans for Columbia's one-stop shop for homeless services has been in the works since 2021 and has experienced delays since.

The move offers a preview of the Opportunity Campus — a one-stop-shop for homeless services currently under construction and expected to be completed by next spring.

CoMo Mobile Aid is a local grassroots organization that sets up outside the local overnight shelter, Room the Inn [RATI], twice a week – offering a pop-up thrift store, a wound care station and a large, converted van where folks can get all sorts of essentials: from band aids and Tylenol to menstrual pads and shampoo.

Jaquie Melloway and John Trapp are the leadership team that run Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia that serves unhoused people. They spoke about some of the things that have surprised them about the folks they serve.

Reighna is an unhoused woman in her 40s. She spoke about some of the systemic challenges that can make it hard for people to climb out of homelessness, but also about the community that supports her.

Amy is an unhoused woman in her 50s who we met at Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia. She spoke about some of the challenges of trying to take care of her health while living on the street with chronic illnesses.

Reporters Anna Spidel, Harshawn Ratanpal and Rebecca Smith take listeners inside Columbia's only year-round homeless shelter, Room at the Inn, for one night.

Room at the Inn, which welcomes about 100 guests per night, provides resources for unhoused people in Columbia.

Room at the Inn's new transition program helps homeless people make personalized plans to permanently improve their situation.

The Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen served dinner out of the Ashley Street Center for the first time Monday night after leaving its longtime home of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church.