The Warming Shelter to close Oct. 1 despite efforts to keep it open

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Officials at The Warming Shelter in Sioux City say the shelter will still, in fact, be closing on Oct. 1 .

Wednesday's news comes after the shelter announced a fundraising effort aimed at keeping the doors open through the winter. More than $19,000 was donated as part of a GoFundMe campaign.

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At Monday's city council meeting , several people made pleas for help. Council member Dan Moore said the city offered a $150,000 contribution to keep the shelter open this winter, but the shelter was also asking for a five-year commitment.

Shelter treasurer Joe Twidwell says community-wide support never materialized, leaving the board of directors with no option. In making the announcement, Twidwell said it is sad seeing people distance themselves from the homeless population.

"They were somebody's son or daughter or aunt or uncle or somebody you graduated high school with," he said. "It's just so sad that they're able to distance people, make them not be a brother or sister that we have a responsibility for."

"We've had some of the toughest cases, and we've actually been able to get them in their own stable living situation where they can sustain it and be happy and healthy and in their own home." executive director Shayla Moore said.

The Warming Shelter first opened its doors in 2013 after Twidwell, a community advocate, expressed concerns that someone could die on the streets during winter months. Nine years later in 2022, the shelter transitioned to year-round services.

Currently, the shelter houses 80-100 people on any given night. That number grows to more than 125 a night during the winter season.

"It was kind of a massive shock to me hearing that first they were trying to raise the money," former resident Tim Dalton said. "But then I found out they will close on Oct. 1, and I was like, what?"

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"I haven't seen the Chamber [of Commerce] do anything except call a couple meetings," concerned citizen Dave Bernstein said. "No output from that, Downtown Partners has done nothing, and yet most of our homeless folks in our city live downtown. It's a problem that's not going to go away by us ignoring it and it's really I think a low point in this community to a certain extent because there's just a lack of ownership and leadership."

Between now and Oct. 1, The Warming Shelter says it will be working with other area agencies as well as city neighborhood services to identify housing options that may be available.