More people dealing with homeless with have a warm place to sleep this winter thanks to a recent addition to the Chatham Hope Haven.
The facility, which offers overnight accommodations for men who have nowhere to stay, previously was only able to offer 10 beds. However, Hope Haven general manager Wanda Bell says they have recently been cleared by the fire department and city building inspector to offer an additional four beds in the building.
Bell said they had to meet a number of requirements in order to allow more men to sleep in the building, including specific fire alarm needs and making sure certain doors function properly. Now that a total of 14 men are allowed to stay overnight, Wanda said she and her team are very excited.
"It has been a long time in the making, but we couldn't be happier," she said. "As the weather gets colder these extra beds will really help and we are all up to code with the fire department so we can really be proud that this is a safe refuge for these homeless men who are going through some life struggles."
When they had just 10 beds available, Bell said Hope Haven volunteers had to turn away several men a week from staying at the facility. Bell said the increase in beds comes at a perfect time, right before the temperatures drop.
"Already our numbers are higher. We see that maybe they used to be staying with friends, they're asking them to move on if they were couch surfing. Or they were in the woods or under the bridge, definitely, the cold has an effect on their decisions and they're coming to stay with us," she explained.
Hope Haven Chatham recently reached the milestone of being in operation for two years. During that time, 103 men used their services during the first year and 88 during the second year. Bell said even during the warmer months, they would see eight to 10 men come through a night.
"It was really hard for our volunteers to turn someone away when we only had the limit of 10. I know my volunteers are relieved for this addition," said Bell. "It will make it a lot easier because then we can accept everyone and we do want to help as many people as we can."
Men who use Hope Haven come in around 7 p.m. and get access to a meal, shower, laundry and bed. The organization is run completely by volunteers and funded by donations. Bell said, for now, 14 beds are the maximum they'd be able to host due to the number of available showers at the facility. She said 14 beds should be sufficient because the goal is to keep as many men as possible from having to repeatedly use the facility.
"We're working very hard with social services so that people find housing within our time limit and that they move on to something more stable," she explained. "We're really transitional housing until they find something. So we're hoping that's sufficient, the 14."
Bell added that Chatham Hope Haven is always looking for more volunteers to fill a variety of roles including supervision, fundraising and housekeeping.