Winter services for Columbia's unsheltered to start from new home locations

Charles Dunlap, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
James Henderson, left, Room at the Inn reservation coordinator, and shelter guest Bill Wallace get ready to play a game of spades at Central Missouri Event Center at Columbia's Northeast Regional Park in March when the overnight shelter was housed there. Room at the Inn will operate from the former VFW Post 280 on Ashley Street this winter.
James Henderson, left, Room at the Inn reservation coordinator, and shelter guest Bill Wallace get ready to play a game of spades at Central Missouri Event Center at Columbia's Northeast Regional Park in March when the overnight shelter was housed there. Room at the Inn will operate from the former VFW Post 280 on Ashley Street this winter.

Columbia's unsheltered population will have a new and slightly different place to go this winter to receive cold weather services.

The city purchased the former home of VFW Post 280 at 1509 Ashley St. in October for the new home of Room at the Inn overnight shelter.

A contract also was established with Turning Point at Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church to serve as an overnight warming shelter when temperatures drop to 25 degrees or below. This is in replacement of the Wabash Bus Station from the previous winter.

More: Purchase of VFW Post 280 facility is the 'first test' of Opportunity Campus plan

Services start Monday from these locations. Other warming center locations include Columbia City Hall, Daniel Boone Regional Library, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, the Salvation Army on Ash Street and its Harbor House on North Ann Street and St. Francis House on Rangeline.

Room at the Inn will run from Monday through April 2. The shelter will be open from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Sundays.

The city also modified its orange bus route to include a stop at the Ashley Street Center. While the orange route still will travel on Rangeline, it will also divert east on the Business Loop to reach the Ashley Street Center before returning to Rangeline.

In order to maintain a route time of 40 minutes, the orange route bus will return to Wabash Bus Station directly after servicing the stop located at Rangeline Street and Wilkes Boulevard. As of Nov. 28, bus stops along Park Avenue and North Fifth Street and the four remaining stops along Wilkes Boulevard will only be visited once per route, instead of the previous twice per route.

The new map and schedule will be posted to social media, the Go COMO app and GoCOMOTransit.com.

The overnight warming center at Turning Point is a "refuge of last resort for persons unable or unwilling to access local emergency shelter services," the city said in a news release.

City and Turning Point staff will continue to coordinate closely with homeless service providers to ensure low-barrier access to overnight emergency shelter as the preferred option for persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness, the city said.

Turning Point also will offer additional homeless drop-in center services 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoons from Dec. 4 to April 2. The only exceptions are Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, 2023 when Room at the Inn will remain open all day.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Winter services for Columbia unsheltered start Monday