Salvation Army’s Fundraiser Highlights Shelter’s Impact On Families

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The St. Cloud Salvation Army is hosting its 18th annual Emergency Shelter Fundraiser. The event will take place on Saturday, October 4th, at 6:00 p.m. at the Park Event Center in Waite Park.

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Captain Nate North says their shelter is consistently full, and the need continues to grow.

We can handle 69 beds at one time, so 69 people. With that, we do have six family rooms, specific to helping families in need, and we also have a few beds specific to our veterans.

Last year, 434 individuals were served at the shelter.  Fourteen percent of the shelter beds were occupied by a child.  Twenty percent of the 16 shelter rooms were occupied by a family.

North says the city changed the rules for shelter stays earlier this year going from a maximum 45 day stay to 120 day stays allowed.

So we've been able to keep people here longer, be able to work with them more consistently, and hopefully get them in stable housing, because my staff is able to work with them over a longer period of time.

When an individual or family arrives at the Salvation Army, they are immediately assigned a case worker who helps them with things like job applications and finding stable housing. The St. Cloud Salvation Army has 25 staff members, including three case workers.

The Emergency Shelter Fundraiser will include dinner, music, and a silent auction.