COVINGTON, Ky. — When the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky first opened its doors in 2008, it was the Bluegrass region's only cold weather shelter for adults. While it now operates year-round for men, staff are committed to giving all the community's most vulnerable a warm place to sleep when nights get too cold.
"This is our core," executive director Kim Webb said. "This is how we started. This is what we're known for."
The shelter is preparing for its 15th year as Northern Kentucky's only low-barrier, immediate-entry winter shelter.
Doors will open on Nov. 1, meaning for nearly five months, 16 of the 10,000 square foot facility's nearly 70 beds will be designated for women to use.
"It's cold out (in the winter)," Webb said. "It is probably the physical reminder of how dangerous it is outside and so for us to have the space to walk into that has the kitchen, and has tables for people to sit at, and beds."
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, each year around 700 people experiencing or are at risk of homelessness are killed from hypothermia in the United States. The shelter said without the winter shelter, unhoused individuals in the region run the risk of freezing to death as temperatures plummet in the winter.
Webb said there's a significant reason why the shelter only allows women to sleep in the shelter during the winter.
"It is based on national statistics," she said. "When you look at the statistics, two-thirds of the population experiencing homelessness is a single adult and 78% of them are men."
Though women are only sheltered a few months out of the year, they aren't completely turned away during the rest. In 2013, ESNKY added a daytime shower & laundry program for adults unwilling or unable to access shelter to meet their immediate hygiene needs.
The Daytime Navigation & Engagement Center (DNEC) runs daily and also offers computer workstations to search for employment and housing, cell phone charging stations, and community partner rooms to meet with case management and mental health providers.
Webb said she's proud to offer those resources and services now because not even two years ago she wasn't able to.
At half the size of the current facility, the original shelter's location on Scott Boulevard was a converted doctor's office that only had one shower and a single bathroom for women, which also doubled as the staff bathroom.
"We had beds. We had a first intake, we had a second intake and then we'd sleep people on the floors.," Webb said. "Very chaotic. No kitchen. So when I look back at those days we would serve a meal where we would have tables lined up and when we were done serving, we'd pack the tables up and we'd start sleeping people on the floor."
While the winter shelter operates, regular programs will continue, Webb said. That includes the 120-day Housing and Work Program for men, which provides longer-term bed security to allow them to maintain employment and obtain stable housing.
Webb said it'll likely take a few weeks but she expects to fill all 16 of the women's beds this winter.
"The first winter we were in (this new building) we struggled to fill the women's beds. Last winter it took a while but we got them filled."
The shelter is accepting donations including winter gloves, hats and coats. Webb said coffee and paper goods such as paper cups, paper plates and paper towels are especially appreciated as guests use those up quickly.
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