HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The doors have reopened to the Salvation Army of Huntsville and its emergency services.
“Our emergency shelter is very critical to address the issue of people who find themselves homeless, and we made a commitment to the community to provide that service,” said Major Joseph May, the Salvation Army Corps Officer.
Currently, according to May, the outreach has 19 beds for men for an overnight stay and 10 for women. Each night, the shelter is at full capacity.
When the emergency housing shelter closed in March, it left dozens of people finding emergency resources elsewhere.
With low staffing due to illness and a lack of qualified applicants, the shelter was closed.
The Salvation Army reopened in June, just in time to assist the city of Huntsville and its growing need for emergency shelter.
“The city needs all of us and we wanted to carry our part and the responsibility for that and to the degree that,” May explained.
May told News 19 that they lost the person who was working as an emergency housing monitor because of illness. That person is out on medical leave once again, but he is confident that this time the shelter will remain open.
“It’s been an ongoing need for a while, but thank you to News 19 for helping us to get the word out about our needs at the shelter. They’ve helped us to better serve our community,” said May.
May and the Salvation Army are looking to fill several positions to keep the shelter open. You can find more information here.
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