YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - Yankton’s homeless shelter is getting ready to take over a motel on Highway 50 as its new home.
The shelter’s board and the owner of the Star Brite Inn are working on Oct. 16 closing date for the contract, the Yankton Press and Dakotan reported (https://bit.ly/1VyGKJf ).
Yankton’s current homeless shelter location has two rooms, with three upstairs beds for individual males and an apartment-style downstairs complex that can house a family. The new location has 14 rooms, and the organization hopes to move into the motel in November.
Eric Miller, the shelter’s executive director, said the motel space should allow the organization to hold five families and several individuals or pairs. He said the shelter is still considering the layout, and the adaptation process will require some changes in daily operations.
“We can function right off the bat, but it will take more planning on how to maximize our space in the long term,” Miller said.
Expansion plans have been in the works since April. Members of the homeless shelter board began talking to Dennis Berkland, the motel owner, who has been a great help in housing people when the current facilities often reached capacity, board members said.
“To go from such limited space to having a lot of it, there will definitely be a learning curve,” said Pastor Jon Cooke, chairman of the homeless shelter board. “You hope to learn from the mistakes you make, and hopefully, you don’t make too many.”
Members of the homeless shelter board were worried about raising the funds in time to purchase the Star Brite Inn, but the shelter was able to secure a no-interest loan of $250,000 to cover the purchase price. The shelter is planning fundraising campaigns to help cover the added expenses of maintaining a larger facility.
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Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, https://www.yankton.net/
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