Days Inn, 730 Iowa St., is pictured Dec. 24, 2020.
With the help of volunteers, the city of Lawrence will be opening an overnight drop-in shelter that aims to provide a safe option in freezing temperatures for the more than 100 homeless people currently estimated to be sleeping outside.
The city and other partners finalized agreements Wednesday afternoon so that the shelter could open Wednesday night, according to Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire. McGuire said the city has contracted with Days Inn, 730 Iowa St., to host the shelter and signed an agreement with the volunteer group Lawrence Coalition for Homeless Concerns to operate the shelter.
photo by: Contributed Photos
Volunteers from Rock Hill Church and Ballard Center board member Michelle Chronister spread rubber mulch at one of the Ballard Center s playgrounds in the summer of 2020.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Ballard Center Executive Director Becky Price was bracing for a 150% increase in people needing help and a 50% decrease in donors. But nine months into the pandemic, the nonprofit leader said no donor decrease has occurred. She’s had a “front row seat” to the community’s generosity, she said and especially so in her own North Lawrence community.
“People are stepping up to the plate. It is shocking and amazing to me,” she said.