The Haven homeless shelter in Ravenna Township is nearly complete

Five years after purchasing a former retail store on Route 59, Portage County's new homeless shelter is now just weeks away from opening.

The Haven of Portage County will host a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. Monday. Anne Marie Noble, executive director of The Haven, said there are still some "logistical details" to work out, including obtaining some permits, before the shelter can open to the public. Noble hopes to start housing the homeless by mid-February.

"It's heartbreaking," she said. "People need shelter, and I hate to turn them away."

Noble and Chris Rucker, program director, will greet the public and show off the nearly completed shelter to supporters.

The Haven, at 2645 Route 59 in Ravenna, hosted an open house last May, and had tentatively planned to open in September. However, construction, including extending utility lines to the building, didn't go as quickly as planned. The COVID-19 pandemic, Noble said, also drove up the cost of materials "if you were even able to get them," she said.

In 2020, The Haven opened a warming center at the Immaculate Conception church hall in Ravenna. But this year, as the shelter neared completion, Noble approached social service agencies and told them that she didn't have time to operate the warming center. The Center of Hope in Ravenna agreed to open as a warming center, and hosts people on nights when the temperature drops below 20 degrees.

Portage Community Chapel purchased the former retail shop in 2017. Noble, who joined the effort in 2018, has been working since then to raise money and renovate the former store into a shelter, which will house up to 64 men and women.

"We just keep moving forward," Noble said. "We're excited about the progress we made."

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage shelter almost complete; Progress will be unveiled on Monday