photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur and Director of the Homeless Solutions Division Misty Bosch-Hastings give a presentation on the Extreme Weather Emergency Shelters initiative on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024.

As Lawrence and Douglas County develop a plan to provide around 200 beds of emergency shelter this winter, they’re looking for more organizations to partner with, as well as people who can provide “mental health first aid” at the shelter sites.

On Thursday, several community partners involved in the Extreme Weather Emergency Shelters initiative — established by the City of Lawrence and Douglas County — gathered to discuss and share updates on their collaborative efforts to prepare for extreme weather events. It’s a program that leaders say is urgently needed to help the area homeless population, which, according to this year’s point-in-time count, numbered 414 on a single night in January.

“It’s so important (that) this plan is focused on a population that, historically, our emergency management planning has not been focused on,” Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur said. “But we know it’s a value of this community. It’s a value of our plan that we have a plan for how we’re going to respond to our unhoused population.”

As the Journal-World reported, the plan aims to provide around 200 beds for people needing shelter during extreme weather events. These shelters will be activated when there is severe weather in the forecast, like when the National Weather Service issues emergency warnings such as cold advisories or winter storm warnings. Any of the emergency shelters that operate overnight will run from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

The Lawrence Community Shelter currently has a capacity of 140 beds, and according to the plan, the emergency shelters will be expected to serve up to 40 individuals per site. Numerous churches have offered their spaces to be used as shelter sites, including University Community of Christ, First United Methodist Church, Jesus Community Church of the Nazarene and Lawrence First Church. Locations in Baldwin City, Eudora and other parts of Douglas County are still being determined.

Jesus Community Church of the Nazarene also volunteered to provide beds for people with pets, which allows pet owners to not have to choose between their safety and caring for their animals.

A member of the public asked Thursday if any of these overflow shelters would accept families, and Misty Bosch-Hastings, director of the Homeless Solutions Division, said that it is a possibility.

“We’re either looking at Lawrence First Church for families, or we might have to do hotels,” Bosch-Hastings said.

Jolicoeur said that the plan involves a community “call tree” to respond when families in need are identified. This system would coordinate various agencies to provide hotel accommodations, ensuring temporary shelter and support while helping the families navigate their next steps.

Another audience member raised concerns about individuals who might not feel comfortable in a church setting and asked if the city and county are exploring partnerships beyond churches.

John Krehbiel, a volunteer at First United Methodist Church, said he’s been involved in every winter emergency shelter that the church has had since 2019.

“While this is a church building, this has very little to do with the church side of things,” Krehbiel said. “This is about saving lives.”

Bosch-Hastings emphasized that the initiative welcomes any potential partners and is open to all offers of housing assistance. Jolicoeur added that the program is actively seeking new collaborators and is eager to build connections with willing organizations.

Jolicoeur also said that providing mental health first aid training is a significant part of supporting people who are coming into the shelters with mental health and substance-use challenges.

According to the presentation given at the meeting, volunteers who receive mental health first aid training will learn a framework to respond to challenges ranging from panic attacks to suicidal thoughts and to simply support someone who needs it. Mathew Faulk, director of housing at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, said mental health first aid training is open to anybody. Those interested can find more information at bertnash.org/mhfa.

The key partners that were involved in the development of the emergency winter sheltering plan were Bert Nash, the City of Lawrence Homeless Initiatives Division, Douglas County Emergency Management, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and the Lawrence Community Shelter. But Jolicoeur said that the organizations already taking part in the plan wouldn’t be enough, and that more help was needed.

“They cannot do it alone,” Jolicoeur said.

“Having more sites available and options available for folks so they’re not all packed in one spot, it’s best for everybody,” she said. “Even if you’re like, ‘I want to be your backup backup,’ that’s cool too. We want to know about that.”