Hope House to continue operations
County’s only homeless shelter limiting guests, imposing other restrictions
Gratiot County Hope House will continue to operate under it’s selfimposed COVID-19 restrictions for the remainder of the season.
Officials for the county’s only homeless shelter, located at the St. Louis Church of the Nazarene, made the decision last week to continue limiting the number of guests permitted and not allowing volunteers into the facility.
Those rules were implemented shortly after Hope House opened on Nov. 1, when the number of COVID-19 cases in the county began increasing dramatically.
“In December we used a survey to see how our volunteers felt about returning to the shelter in January,”
Hope House Co-executive Directors Jake Gregory and Nathan Workman stated in a letter posted on the shelter’s website. “The response was overwhelmingly clear — our volunteers are not ready to return at this time. This came as no surprise to our team and is something we completely understand.”
Initially the staff had hoped to serve 10 guests at a time and limit the number of volunteers to six or seven per day, instead the normal 10 to 12.
But things quickly changed about a week after opening.
The rules now in effect include limiting capacity to four individuals to ensure each one has their own room and not allowing volunteers into the shelter with staff supervising guests.
Meals and case management services are still being provided to those who stay at the shelter, and the facility is being professionally cleaned.
When those restrictions were first implemented, Hope House officials intended to return to somewhat normal operations by Jan. 10.
But that didn’t happen. “These measures were reviewed by our Board of Directors at our January meeting,” Gregory and Workman’s letter stated. “During that meeting our board decided
that due to the ongoing nature of the pandemic we must maintain our current level of operations and not lift these restrictions for the remainder of the shelter season. At this time we intend to close the shelter for the season after the first of April, 2021, as is our usual practice.
“To be clear, we understand that this is a very difficult time and we completely understand each individual’s hesitation to come volunteer. It is our greatest desire that our volunteers do whatever they can to stay safe and healthy during this pandemic.”
During the 2019-20 season Hope House had a total of 53 guests and more than 200 volunteers, who worked about 2,600 hours.
Donations to help defray the facility’s operational costs are still being accepted. Checks can be sent to Hope House at 1001 W.washington St., St. Louis, MI 48880, or made online at www.gchopehouse.org/donate.