Linn County homeless agencies urgently need winter shelter space

CEDAR RAPIDS - After plans to add homeless shelter space in cold weather unexpectedly fell through Friday, Linn County agencies urgently are seeking another facility that could open in less than two weeks.

A collaboration between 15 homeless service agencies has allowed a cold weather overflow shelter to operate the last two winters. A group had been working since July on identifying a facility that could handle up to 40 people a night.

But the group got word from inspectors that the structure organizers had identified didn't meet building code and could not be used.

'A generous property owner that was planning to tear down a building and isn't using it offered to let us use it as long as we maintain utilities and staffing. We had volunteers scheduled to clean it and get it all ready and move over cots and a blankets,” said Phoebe Trepp, executive director of Willis Dady Homeless Services in Cedar Rapids.

But the structure did not have a sprinkler system - so no one would be allowed to stay there.

'We don't have the money to put in a sprinkler system, but we also don't have the time to mess around to figure out a way to alter that,” Trepp said. 'We just need to find something.”

The collaboration of agencies is seeking a location to use from Nov. 15 to March 15, and would provide two staff members each night.

Anyone with leads on a facility was asked to contract Trepp at (319) 362-7555 or at director@willisdady.org.

Last year. an overflow shelter served 321 people who had nowhere else to go on a cold night.

'We already have had people sleeping out on nights where it's below freezing,” Trepp said.