St. John's Ministries men's shelter in Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Our quick change to dangerously cold temperatures means emergency shelters in Northeast Wisconsin are seeing more traffic.
It’s led some shelters to increase their capacity — and many say their numbers are already up.
St. John’s Ministries’ emergency shelter in Green Bay is seeing an average of 134 guests each night. That’s more than half of its 210-person capacity, but those numbers don’t come as a surprise.
“We see, across the county and across the nation, the needs are increasing, and Brown County and Green Bay, specifically, is no stranger to that. We’re no different, and we just want to make sure that that we are prepared,” St. John’s Ministries Director of Community Engagement Tony Schneider said.
St. John’s emergency shelters opened for the season Nov. 1. So far at the men’s shelter, the highest number of guests is 101, with a capacity of 140. The highest at the women’s shelter has been 50, which now has a capacity of 70.
“We just aren’t in the business of turning people away. So we want to make sure that if those numbers continue to rise, we want to make sure that we can welcome those ladies in and give them a safe place,” Schneider said.
In the 2024-2025 season, the women’s shelter saw 50 women 17 times. Schneider said if those numbers continue to rise, the shelter feels more prepared now with the extra cushion.
St. John’s women’s shelter is hoping to expand into the summer months with a possible safe sleep program. Discussions are still ongoing for how that will look.
Meanwhile, at SAM 25 in Shawano, its emergency shelter opened in mid-October for the first time. So far, it’s been busier than expected.
Until this year, the shelter was open from Nov. 1 to April 30. That’s since been altered by adding 15 days to both the front end and back end. So far, it’s already proved beneficial for the community.
“We opened Oct. 15. That night, we only had two guests, so we were like, ‘Is the need really there?’ And then a couple days later, we only had two beds left,” Shawano Area Matthew 25 Executive Director Kendra Brusewitz said.
SAM 25 has 21 beds. It’s been consistently seeing 13-15 guests a night.
Brusewitz said demographics are seeing a shift, with more families and children. She said the expansion came at the right time.
“It just provides another opportunity for people to be connected in-house to our case management, so providing those resources while you have a safe place,” Brusewitz said.
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