Homeless in Billings thankful for Off The Streets shelter
and last updated 2021-02-15 10:48:40-05
This past fall, about 40 organizations converted an old hotel into the Off The Streets Shelter.
This week it has provided a place to stay during subzero temperatures.
Craig Barthel, site director welcomes men and women going through homelessness to the shelter.
Photo Credit: KTVQ It s like the old Cheers show, Norm, Barthel said about knowing names of those at the shelter. We all know each other on a first name basis so even the staff here have made it a point to remember their names to memorize those names and to use those names. The homeless really pick up on that. When somebody remembers your first and last name, all of a sudden you feel important. Just like we re at a five star hotel, we re greeting them that well, and in welcoming them into the property and saying hey whatever you need. Let us know. We ll make sure that you re stay here tonight is a good one.
Billings shelter ready to help homeless during cold weather
Deep freeze a danger for homeless in Billings
and last updated 2021-02-12 15:06:49-05
Sub-zero temperatures have caused challenges for the homeless, and Billings shelters are ready to help.
About 50 will stay Thursday night at Off The Streets at Second Avenue North and North 33rd Street.
Van loads of about six people come over from the Crisis Center, where they are screened. There s a lot of people that have stayed out, as long as they could. You know they re not wanting to be around other people necessarily and so they re the, they re the difficult ones to reach to get them to come into a shelter like this, said Craig Barthel, site director for Off The Streets. But the cold weather has actually forced them, they re getting cold at night now where maybe when it was 20 above they weren t quite so cold, you know now at zero or negative degrees. They re realizing that they can t take that kind of kind of cold, and so t
Two months after opening, Billings low-barrier shelter lessening strain of homelessness
Billings shelter preparing for cold temperatures
and last updated 2021-01-23 10:36:08-05
Off the Street Shelter has been helping 30 or more homeless people in downtown Billings per night, providing a place to stay, a bed, and a shower for a night.
The shelter opened last November and has since been helping homeless people overcome the struggle of always worrying where they might stay next or if they will be warm one night.
Craig Barthel, site director for the shelter, says that the people who come to the shelter would otherwise be on the street.