In a heartwarming Thanksgiving initiative, Willis Dady in Cedar Rapids unveiled its new low-barrier overflow shelter last week. This facility provides crucial refuge for homeless individuals, offering essentials like food, hygiene products, and a warm place to sleep without the usual restrictions found in traditional shelters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The overflow shelter operates on a low-barrier principle, allowing individuals to seek assistance without having to abstain from drugs or alcohol, undergo mental health treatment, or meet with a case manager. Tammy Mims, a Resident Assistant, emphasized the inclusivity of the new shelter, stating, “We service anyone with any type of problems or barriers they’re facing\u2014be it mental health, substance abuse, or crisis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the main shelter at full capacity, the timing of the overflow shelter’s opening is critical. Mims noted, “There are no beds available at the non-barrier shelter right now.” This underscores the urgent need for such facilities, especially during the holiday season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the material comforts, residents highlight the shelter’s most valuable aspect\u2014the sense of community. Frank Gulling, a homeless Cedar Rapidian, expressed, “A lot of these people here are like family to me. I\u2019ve watched a lot of people die. And the people that are still here, I\u2019m happy for the ones that are still here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those seeking shelter during the holidays, Willis Dady Resident Assistants assure that space is available at the overflow shelter, provided individuals check-in with Waypoint Shelter Services beforehand. This Thanksgiving, Willis Dady’s new low-barrier shelter stands as a compassionate response to the needs of the Cedar Rapids homeless community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a heartwarming Thanksgiving initiative, Willis Dady in Cedar Rapids unveiled its new low-barrier overflow shelter last week. This facility provides crucial refuge for homeless individuals, offering essentials like food, hygiene products, and a warm place to sleep without the usual restrictions found in traditional shelters. The overflow shelter operates on a low-barrier principle, allowing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iowacitynews","8":"category-local"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":507,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iowamediagroup.com\/public_html\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}