Freeport homeless shelter stresses importance of helping those in need
FREEPORT — As the number of homeless people in Freeport continues to rise so does the importance of helping those people find housing, shelter and other needs like clothing and food.
In the Freeport area, the Freeport Area Church Cooperative plays a major role in helping those who have fallen on tough times or struggling to get basic needs met.
The cooperative's shelter, located at its headquarters at 514 Chicago Ave., can serve a couple dozen men and women and a few families at a time, but it's been full for months now.
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"We've been open all summer, and we've been full all summer," said Amy Korte executive director at FACC. "We were at maximum capacity, and it's stayed that way. We get somebody housed and then another comes in."
Agency staff has put a priority on trying to find ways to add more resources as winter approaches.
"We're using some time to work on grants to get more beds," Korte said. "There's definitely a need in this community. We now have a waiting list, and it's ongoing."
Like others, the cooperative has been hard hit by COVID-19.
It used to only open its shelter in the early evening hours and overnight, but since the pandemic and to help keep families safe and healthy, it became a 24-hour operation.
"Because of COVID, we didn't want them to hang out with a group of people in other buildings and a lot of them don't feel safe around a lot of people," Korte said. "Plus some of them work jobs during the day and others help out in our food pantry."
The number of homeless people served at the FACC shelter stayed fairly low and steady through the first five months of 2021, with around 10-15 people each month, but then that number took a big jump in June with 19 served.
By July, that number was 23.
The shelter has already far exceeded the total number of people in 2020. That number has gone from 94 in all of 2020 to 134 to date for 2021.
"We're really struggling trying to find permanent homes," Korte said. "I don't think many people realize how many are homeless here and how easy it is to become homeless.
"There's so many new people. Some are only here for two weeks, but there are a lot of stories why."
The cooperative serves breakfast and dinner at the shelter and the Salvation Army provides lunch.
Many of the cooperatives' meals are made by volunteers, and many of them use supplies from the food pantry to make them.
Besides food, the shelter is always in need of hygiene items and monetary donations to make improvements and repairs to the shelter or to help cover operational costs.
To donate food or money, contact FACC at 815-233-0435 or their website at faccfreeport.com.
Todd McKenna is a freelance correspondent.
This article originally appeared on Journal Standard: Freeport homeless shelter stresses importance of helping those in need
