St. Cloud Planning Commission Recommends Extending Shelter Stays

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend city staff proposals on extending the length of time someone can stay at area shelters.

The measure would allow the facilities to extend the maximum stay for 10% of their guests to 180 days. It would up the cap on everyone else to 120 days. The numbers right now are 45 and 90 days, respectively. Anna Marie’s Alliance Executive Director Charles Hempeck is lobbying for no cap.

“In the state of Minnesota, Anna Marie’s Alliance is currently the only domestic violence shelter that has an ordinance that’s limiting the length of stay that families or individuals can stay at their shelter.”

Captain Nate North of the local Salvation Army hopes the number of residents eligible for an extension also changes. He says about 30 to 40 percent of people need more time than they are currently given.

“And a lot of times, what we’re seeing is that it takes a week or two for people to get comfortable with the case managers, with their surroundings, for it really to be effective, for them to be able to effectively take the next step.”

North doesn’t believe changing the stay restrictions would cause space problems. Right now, he says, with so little time to help someone, many residents end up cycling through multiple shelters in the city without ever truly having their problems addressed.

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