Hebron overnight shelter for men closing in Waukesha

April 25, 2012

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By Laurel Walker of the Journal Sentinel

April 25, 2012 0

Waukesha - Hebron House of Hospitality Inc. will close its winter emergency shelter for men at the former school on Northview Road and Grandview Blvd. on Monday.

A search is already under way for a new location next year, said Bernie Juno, executive director.

The school, formerly a public elementary school and a private Christian school, was recently sold for potential use as a satellite church. Juno said she has not been in contact with the purchaser, who is unknown to her, to see if Hebron House could use the space again next winter.

"We don't have a home for next year," she said.

Meanwhile, St. William Catholic Church donated $10,000 to the shelter this week, the results of a Lenten collection. Children donated more than a dozen blankets they made, as well, and Juno said they will be given to children at Hebron's shelters.

Monday's closing of the men's overnight shelter, which opened Dec. 15, had been scheduled all along.

"We have been filled this winter," Juno said. "Even though it was mild, we were still filled."

The shelter had a capacity of 35 and was open during the overnight hours only.

Hebron House also announced it will be relocating its administrative offices that oversee shelters and assistance programs from Racine Ave. to St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 111 E. Main St., which has offered rent-free space.

Juno said 11 staff will operate from the church, including those who coordinate emergency grants for individuals, housing and financial counseling programs and assistance in applying for supplemental Social Security. With additional office space, Hebron House may be able to expand some of its case management services, Juno said.

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.