St. John’s Homeless Shelter in Green Bay to become independent nonprofit

ALLOUEZ — St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter and the Diocese of Green Bay have agreed to end their 11-year partnership on July 1, 2019. In a letter dated March 7 and addressed to “friends of St. John’s Homeless Shelter,” diocesan and shelter officials said the decision has been in the works for more than two years.

The letter was signed by James O’Neil, SJEHS Board of Trustees chairman; Fr. John Girotti, SJEHS Board of Directors president; and Alexia Wood, SJEHS executive director.

“Beginning July 1, 2019, St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter, Inc., will become an independent nonprofit and no longer operate as a corporation of the Diocese of Green Bay,” stated the letter. “This transition comes after more than two years of careful planning to ensure St. John’s ministries will continue to thrive and embody the mission of Jesus by caring for those in greatest need in our community.

continue at The Compass

There's been some battling between the diocese and the city of Green Bay over this place.  I'm not sure if this move will alleviate that or improve it.  The article does a really good job of explaining the history of the shelter and is worth a look.

from 2013: "City officials in December cited the homeless shelter for exceeding occupancy limits, initiating a Municipal Court case that could result in fines of up to $500 a day against the diocese."

Cold snap pushes Green Bay homeless shelter to capacity

GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The deep freeze affecting Northeast Wisconsin is pushing some area homeless shelters to capacity.

At the daytime resource facility called the Micah Center, homeless people in Green Bay can get a break from the cold. George Caldwell says there's no doubt it's winter.

"It's brutal. It's like you get frostbite. You end up with pneumonia, bronchitis. You lose feeling in your fingers," said George Caldwell, Homeless.

Just down the hall, Kurt Loff is warming up.

"With the temperatures at night, even if you're wearing gloves, your face is exposed, and all that. it's not good. If you're out there freezing. You don't know where to go, just decided you want to stay on the streets, that's the worst thing people can do," said Kurt Loff, Homeless.

continue at Fox11

Fundraiser helps Green Bay homeless shelter

The shelter is funded almost totally by donations. To that end, this year they are holding the first annual Service Gala Auction on Nov. 14 at the Riverside Ballroom. The event begins at 5 p.m. Y100 will emcee the event, Superior Sound Entertainment will DJ and Yoap and Yoap will be auctioneers.

Alonzo Highsmith, the senior personnel executive for the Green Bay Packers, will be the guest speaker. Alonzo brings more than 17 years of experience with the Packer organization as well as a career as a professional NFL player.

Tickets for the event are $50 per person or $350 for a table of eight. People interested in tickets can call 920-664-4409 or order online at www.stjohnsgala.eventbrite.com.

full post at GBPG 

Green Bay Diocese steps up to help homeless again

The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has again stepped up and filled a void that others were either unwilling to or unable to.

The diocese is set to open in October a year-round resource center that will provide a daytime destination for homeless people in downtown Green Bay.

The Micah Center, 700 E. Walnut St., will include a resource center for classes and workshops on employment readiness, budgeting, personal finance, nutrition, anger management, healthy relationships. Visitors will find a reading room, computer lab that can be used to prepare resumes or seek employment, lounge area, game/recreation area, locker room for personal belongings, and an Alcoholics Anonymous site.

It's not the first time the diocese has addressed such a need. It already operates the St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter, which lets in homeless people with alcohol and drug problems who aren't eligible to stay at the New Community Shelter, which has a zero tolerance policy.

continue at GBPG 

God bless you guys!

Green Bay Expands St John's Homeless Shelter Capacity

WBAY

Tuesday night brought a big victory for supporters of St. John's homeless shelter in downtown Green Bay as they fought to increase the number of people allowed to stay in the shelter each night.

In a unanimous voice vote, after hours of debate, the Green Bay City Council approved increasing the occupancy limit by 20 guests per night.

The benches inside the council chambers were crowded with guests, volunteers, and staff members wearing blue T-shirts reading "I Am St. John's."


Much of the meeting was taken up by city council members asking questions to St. John's homeless shelter officials, covering in depth such issues as cost and capacity.

After all of that, the council voted to increase the cap.

Previously, St. John's officials say they were operating under a 64-person cap with an overflow area for 20. They say that was consistent with their operating plan.

But the city cited the shelter for being over capacity, because they said those extra people exceeded the conditional use permit.

Both sides say raising the cap to 84 gets rid of any ambiguity.

continue at WBAY 

GB Mayor appears to be trying to shut down St. John's homeless shelter

In the latest salvo surrounding a Green Bay downtown homeless shelter, Mayor Jim Schmitt is proposing turning over the facility to an outside group that would dramatically change the operation.

Opponents of the mayor’s proposal are immediately blasting it as a thinly veiled attempt to shut down the controversial St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter.

The two sides clashed Monday at a Green Bay City Council committee meeting called to consider a special task force’s ideas for combating homelessness.

Members of the task force suggested renewing efforts to establish a day center where homeless people could gather and obtain services while they wait for St. John’s to open for another night of emergency shelter.

Schmitt said that proposal would not adequately address the root causes of homelessness. Instead, he wants to allow a new organization, Freedom Life Skills, to operate the shelter as a 24-hour-a-day center for housing and counseling homeless people.“I don’t think we need another facility,” he said. “We’ve got to come together and set egos aside and leverage a facility that we have here.”

continue at GB PG

Green Bay homeless shelter's future remains unclear

As a tumultuous season winds down, Green Bay’s downtown homeless shelter faces a future that remains filled with uncertainty.

St. John the Evangelist Homeless Shelter, which ends its season on April 30, has endured months of scrutiny and criticism related to how it serves the area’s homeless population.

But the facility run by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay at 411 St. John St. might not know for several more months whether city officials are going to continue trying to crack down on the operation.

“We’re kind of in a holding pattern,” said Paul Neumeyer, a senior planner for the city.

City officials in December cited the homeless shelter for exceeding occupancy limits, initiating a Municipal Court case that could result in fines of up to $500 a day against the diocese.

Faced with growing demand for its services in tough economic times, the diocese responded by petitioning the city to increase from 64 to 84 the maximum number of people permitted to stay at the emergency overnight shelter. Shelter officials say they had long been accommodating overflow populations without objection from the city.

continue at GBPG

I still don't get what the city's problem is all the sudden.  Do you want to send all those dirty homeless folks off to a leper colony so they don't contaminate the city??