Room At The Inn homeless shelter to be open every Saturday through winter

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Room At The Inn overnight homeless shelter in Columbia is extending its services by adding Saturday operations to fill service gaps in the community.

Starting July 5th, the shelter will be open all day every Saturday to the homeless community.

Executive Director at Room At The Inn John Trapp says the extended hours comes just in time for the summer heat and says a steady increase in Columbia's homeless population that has left service organizations struggling to keep up.

"We're getting into the hottest part of the year we want to be prepared for that turning point stepped up and covered Sunday's so I thought we could step up and cover Saturday," Trapp said.

Turning Point, Columbia's homeless day center, is closed on Saturday, which leaves a gap in service and leaves the homeless population vulnerable to weather-related dangers.

Turning Point says being open Saturday making them open seven days a week and it is not feasible.

Right now, Room At The Inn is open year-round nightly, Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m and operates 90 beds nightly.

"We are full almost every night we often turn people away," Trapp said.

Room At The Inn created a GoFundMe page asking for $15,000 in donations, but has since reduced its target amount by $4,000 after receiving offline donations. So far the shelter has collected over $5.000 in donations.

"It came from downtown businesses and the faith community," Trapp said.

The shelter says the donations go directly toward staffing and supplying the shelter for extended operating hours.

In a Facebook post, the shelter said the $15,000 goal will go toward two staff members working eight hours for $20 an hour would cost $320 a day.

The $15,000 would operate 37 Saturday's helping to bridge the gap until the Opportunity Campus opens for full operations next year., according to Trapp.

Lunch is also included in the potential Saturday operations, with the shelter feeding about 90 people each weekend at a cost of $2 per meal, adding $170 per Saturday. They also factor in $60 in transportation costs.

"The population has outgrown their abilities to serve them so we're going to move Saturday cafe here, the downtown churches will still come in and donate and prepare food they're jut gunna serve it here instead of downtown," Trapp said.

In total, Trapp says it cost about $430 to operate each Saturday.

The shelter says if it surpasses its goal by 50%, it will add all-day Sunday operations before winter begins.

Patrick Steward, who is homeless, says having an extra place to go during the weekend can make a big difference.

"Keep off the streets and you know they doing the right thing building that new facility, you keep em out of the heat, keep em out of the rain and keep em out of the library," Steward added.

Room At The Inn will close Sunday's at 8 a.m.

In 2023, the Columbia City Council allocated $450,000 in the city's fiscal 2024 budget to keep the shelter open year-round. Previously, Room At The Inn only operated during the winter months and closed at the beginning of April.