Cincinnati’s winter shelter for the homeless will open on Dec. 10 and remain open through February, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition announced on Friday.
The announcement preceded a winter storm that covered Cincinnati’s streets in ice and snow and sparked a citywide snow emergency over the weekend. The snow flurries and colder conditions will continue into the week, according to
the National Weather Service
.
was originally unclear
whether the winter shelter would be able to reach its $75,000 fundraising goal to open for its standard two-to-three months. But concerns were allayed after the previous City Council appropriated $30,000 to help the shelter open.
For its run during the 2012-2013 winter, the shelter housed roughly 600 people.
“It’s a relatively cheap program to run,” Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, previously told CityBeat. “To serve about 600 people with $75,000 is pretty good.”
Although the shelter now expects to be open through February, it could still use additional contributions to remain open into March in case the winter is particularly cold and enduring.
The shelter is made possible by the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, Drop Inn Center, Strategies to End Homelessness, Society of St. Vincent De Paul and Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati. It’s supported largely by private contributions.
Contributions to the winter shelter and Drop Inn Center can be made at
tinyurl.com/WinterShelterCincinnati
. To contribute specifically to the winter shelter, type in “winter shelter” in the text box below “Designation (Optional).”
