Zoners To Review Special Exception For Permanent Homeless Shelter
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals will review a special exception request to allow a permanent homeless shelter as a residential use in a commercial zoned district.
The board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall to discuss the request.
Fellowship Missions is requesting the special exception for the former Tri-Namic Printing building, 658 S. Buffalo St., where the organization is wanting to house a permanent homeless shelter for men, women and children.
Fellowship Missions signed a six-month agreement with Warsaw Dec. 15 to rent a home at 337 N. Buffalo St. until May.
The temporary homeless shelter is serving an average of six women per night, and since December has housed six separate children at the shelter.
There also is a transitional home for homeless men on South Buffalo Street that was started in April and there were 14 men staying at the home Tuesday night.
"There is a huge need for a permanent homeless shelter, and by having a temporary homeless shelter we have not even scratched the surface of the homeless situation," said Eric Lane, Fellowship Missions director.
Lane said Fellowship Missions has a floor and exterior plan for the Tri-Namic building it will share at Monday night's meeting.
He said the Tri-Namic building is a little more than 10,000 square feet, and would provide a space to house men, women and children and an outside area for activities with land expansion possibilities.
The building also would provide an area to serve meals and for case worker offices.
