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St. Cloud shelter stay limit extended for city's homeless

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Dec 6, 2011 at 10:44 am

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (KNSI) - The neediest residents of St. Cloud's emergency homeless shelters will now have more time to get their lives in order.

The St. Cloud City Council Monday voted unanimously to extend the maximum period a resident can stay at a city-approved shelter from 45 days to 90 days.

St. Cloud's Salvation Army made the request for the extension as part of the city's Land Development Code. As the only city-approved temporary shelters in St. Cloud, the Salvation Army and Anna Marie's Alliance needed council permission to extend the allowance. Under the new guidelines, the organizations can designate 10 percent of their residents as eligible for the longer stays.

The Salvation Army had argued the extension was necessary because medical issues and other problems often need to be addressed with individual residents before they can find employment and alternative housing, a process that often stretches beyond the 45-day window.

The council extension will be reappraised in 2013.