PORT ANGELES — The Salvation Army can keep its emergency shelter for the homeless open for at least another two months.
And it may become permanent.
The religion-based agency stepped into the role Feb. 17 after Serenity House closed its Street Outreach Center, 505 E. Second St., due to a shortage of funds and failure of a sewer line serving the property.
“We have the money for another 60 days,” said Maj. Scott Ramsey, codirector of the Salvation Army in Port Angeles, who said running the shelter costs about $2,500 a month.
He said a $5,000 donation from Todd Megus, owner of Olympic Synthetic Products/OSP Sling, 803 S. Third Ave., in Sequim, along with an anonymous $1,000 donation from a Forks man and many smaller gifts have made the extended shelter operation possible.
An average of 20 guests a night have stayed at the temporary Salvation Army shelter in the organization’s dining room at South Peabody and East Second streets.
The most sheltered there on one night has been 27. The number never has dropped below 14.
“We have not had one incident,” Ramsey said.
The center has served 40 separate individuals, “but they don’t all arrive every night,” he added.
The shelter opens at 10 p.m. daily. People can stay for breakfast at the Salvation Army’s usual hot morning meal service from 7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. the next day.
The center also has two showers. It uses laundromat facilities at the Peabody Street Coin Laundry next door.
Ramsey said he hopes for permanent funding for the homeless shelter at the Salvation Army.
“We have plans to try to engage the church community to see if it’s something the churches can support,” he said.
Once the Salvation Army’s new kitchen and dining room on the opposite corner of South Peabody and East Second streets open in June, the old dining room will be available for a new role, Ramsey said.
He said the initial plans were to convert the space into a child care center, which would operate as a children’s day camp in summer.
“The Salvation Army has great children’s programs,” he said.
However, the overnight housing crisis led Ramsey and other members of the Salvation Army to question which is Port Angeles’ greatest need: a children’s center, a homeless overnight shelter, or something else.
No decision has been made yet, he said.
Serenity House closed its 20-bed shelter at 508 E. Second St., abruptly after a sewer line failed, but it already had planned to close the shelter at some time this spring because of a budget shortfall, said Kim Leach, executive director of the nonprofit Serenity House of Clallam County.
Serenity House is $270,000 short of its $2.7 million annual budget and it needed to cut the $40,000 it cost to operate the overnight shelter, she said.
The night the SOS shelter closed, several people showed up at the Salvation Army’s doors at about 8 p.m. asking for help with shelter for the night, Ramsey said.
The organization scrambled to find a place for those who had slept at Serenity House’s shelter, and for several nights mats were laid on the floor of the dining room.
A few days later, cots, blankets and clothing had been donated and volunteers settled into a routine.
Two Salvation Army staff members oversee overnight operations, with support from additional staff members, he said.
Accommodating homeless people at Salvation Army headquarters wouldn’t have been practical until recently, Ramsey said.
“In my two years here, we’ve been able to streamline our operation” by clearing out space,” he said.
“Two years ago, we wouldn’t have had the room.”
So far, Ramsey said, “we haven’t turned anybody away.”
Funding for continued operations would be key to keeping the shelter open long-term, Ramsey said.
Donations can be made at the Salvation Army offices, 206 S. Peabody St., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, or mailed to P.O. Box 2229, Port Angeles WA, 98362.
Volunteers, especially for the 10 p.m. check-in and morning check-out, are welcome, he added.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.