Omega to open men’s shelter

The Omega Project is set to open a temporary shelter for men during the first week of February.

The shelter will be the only one of its kind in the county.

Omega has remodeled a garage at the project’s Alpha House at 117 Olivette in McPherson for the project.

The shelter will consist of a three-person dorm room.

The shelter will be taking referrals from a variety of community agencies.

The project was in part made possible by a $25,000 gift from the Julia J. Mingenback Foundation.

Stays at the home will be limited to seven days. Those who need shelter beyond that will be referred to other resources in the community, Omega Project founder David Case said.

He said the temporary shelter is needed now more than ever.

At one time, homeless individuals might have been given vouchers to a local motel.

Temporary workers have come into the community for construction projects at NCRA and other businesses. This has meant many of the community’s hotel rooms are full.

Also as some of those vouchers in the past have caused damage at area hotels, owners are choosing to be more restrictive to whom they rent rooms.

Sheila Plooster, client service manager for Churches United in Ministry, said her agency, which works with the homeless, is finding few options to help.

If a room can’t be found in the city, Plooster said the only other option may be to put the individuals on a bus to Salina, Hutchinson or Wichita to seek housing at one of these cities’ shelters.

Although the Omega Project is a faith-based program, residents in the temporary shelter will not have a faith requirement.

Although the residents at the temporary shelter will not be held to all the rules as those in the Omega Program, they will be required to abstain from drugs and alcohol while at the shelter.

If residents at the temporary shelter would like to transition to the Omega Project, Case said he would like to make that opportunity available.

The project is looking for a permanent live-in shelter director. There will be a small apartment adjacent to the shelter dorm for that person. Until that position can be filled permanently, the project will staff the shelter with rotating personnel.

The last bit of painting work and construction is being finished at the shelter now.

The Omega Project will be hosting its annual Battle of the Chefs fundraiser on Friday, and Case said interested parties should be able to tour the shelter at that time.