Tuesday will be Connections Shelter’s eighth opening day, and the nonprofit is being intentional about not setting a closing date.
“We’re actively fundraising right now to remain open year round,” said Jennifer Echevarria, who stepped in as executive director at the nonprofit in May. “Our hope is that we will open Oct. 1 and we will not close.”
Echevarria spoke about her hopes for this shelter season, located within First Presbyterian Church, at Connections’ block party earlier this month.
Keeping it open would be a response to growing needs, she said. Since starting in the role after co-founder Erica Koser’s departure, Echevarria has seen calls and visits pour in at Connections’ drop-in site.
“We get calls every day, every single day, from people looking for shelter,” she said. “We decided it’s needed and now’s the time to do it.”
Through its first seven years Connections has been a seasonal shelter running from fall to spring. It started as a rotating model housed at different churches before moving into Covenant Family Church on Riverfront Drive in 2019 and then to First Presbyterian in the years since.
Staying open year round has been a goal for leadership in the past, right up there with finding a dedicated site. Years of providing homelessness services in Mankato have brought heightened awareness and more donors on board, Echevarria said, but more help will be needed to achieve each goal.
Connections opened its waitlist for one of 40 beds after the Sept. 12 block party. Based on the 300 or so people on the waitlist last year, Echevarria expected spots to fill up fast.
The nonprofit’s drop-in center, located at 800 S. Front St., served 647 unique households in 2023, according to Echevarria. Some of them were shelter guests, but others were people who didn’t need shelter space but wanted to be connected to other resources. In all these households added up to about 3,500 visits, which have already been surpassed this year.
The block party event was a way to show people the shelter while stocking up on supplies for the coming season. Jason Glaser, who described himself as the first employee hired by Connections, led tours through the facility.
He’s been with the nonprofit long enough to remember the rotating model. Back then staff and volunteers had to haul bedding from one site to another each week.
It’s come a long way since then, he said. New this year is access to showers in First Presbyterian’s basement.
“We’re always trying to become better and better at what we do,” Glaser said.
As Connections works toward year-round status at First Presbyterian, the nonprofit continues to pursue construction of a dedicated site. A proposed project on Mankato’s west side includes an emergency shelter in phase two, with phase one being a supportive housing project headed up by Partners for Housing. The nonprofits worked with Blue Earth County and the City of Mankato on the plans.
Their proposal got passed over for state funding last year. Another application went ahead this year, with the sides expressing optimism about its chances this time.
In the meantime, Echevarria encouraged people to donate funds and supplies to help Connections remain open next summer at First Presbyterian.
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