KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission has had open beds in its emergency shelter since implementing new capacity limits on October 6, according to Chief Operating Officer John Simpson.
The mission stopped placing mats on the floor for overflow guests and now operates with 140 beds total, 80 beds for men and 60 beds for women, down from previous capacity that included floor space.
READ MORE: Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries limits overnight shelter to beds only amid increase in need
"We've actually had open beds in our emergency services shelter since October 6 when we made those changes, which has been surprising for us. We expected that emergency shelter to be full from day one," Simpson said.
The new system uses a lottery to assign beds, with names entered for available spots. Initially, 99 women and 200 men were on the wait list, but the mission worked through the entire wait list by October 10.
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"The first night, we didn't see all of those beds filled. So the names that were drawn, not everybody even showed that first night. So we began to very quickly work the wait list the very next night, to make sure we could get those beds filled as quickly as possible," Simpson said.
Since the policy change, 57 people have entered programming at the Gospel Mission. The facility is now accepting walk-ins for available beds.
Simpson expressed mixed feelings about the results as colder weather approaches.
"While I'm encouraged that folks engaging in programming, absolutely, encouraged that we have some open beds in emergency services, absolutely. But still concerned about our friends that are on the streets. Still concerned about those that are choosing not to engage in services, whether with us, or integrated services, or housing resources, or another one of the many partners that are willing to work with folks in our community. That's still hard not to worry about," Simpson said.
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