Waukesha homeless shelter may open in mid-December

Nov. 29, 2010

0 Comments

By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 29, 2010 0

Waukesha - A temporary homeless shelter for up to 35 men could be operating at a former school on Northview Road and Grandview Blvd. by mid-December through the end of April now that Hebron House of Hospitality has secured a temporary lease for the property, said Bernie Juno, Hebron's executive director.

Juno said she is still negotiating a purchase agreement on the property, but the lease is in place.

Waukesha State Bank owns the property, which was formerly a public elementary school and most recently a private Christian school that closed last summer. Juno hopes that it can become a permanent service center for non-profit agencies who provide services to the homeless and others in need.

Juno said she is planning to hold a meeting with adjoining residential neighbors who have expressed some concerns, but a date has not yet been set. The shelter will operate much as it did for the last two winters at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in downtown Waukesha, with men admitted from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

One paid staff person will be on hand, and volunteers will help run the operation. June said she still needs to raise $35,000 for the staff, rent and utilities. She also will meet with partner agencies, including the Salvation Army and Hope Center, which has provided services and a daytime destination for the men.

About Laurel Walker

Laurel Walker covered local, school and county government for 20 years -- the last half of that at the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- before she was named Waukesha County columnist in 1997. Today she writes about the people, places and events around metropolitan Milwaukee with a broad suburban focus. She was the youngest of nine children raised on a central Wisconsin farm before leaving the nest for journalism studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a masters degree at the University of Oregon. She has spent the last half of her life in Waukesha County, where she and her husband raised two sons. Though she has a fondness for life in Waukesha, she eagerly partakes in the culture of the big city to the east and the recreation of the forests to the west. With sons in the arts, she has a special fondness for symphonic music concerts and art museums. She finds peace in a good book at a Northwoods getaway weekend, adventure in family visits to the east and west coasts, and satisfaction in a column well-written that reaches readers.