Galesburg City Council on Monday night can approve a grant agreement to fund a warming shelter for this winter.
The grant amount would be $60,000 for the Knox County Housing Authority to operate the shelter at 525/527 Iowa Court.
The Housing Authority also partners with the Salvation Army for the warming center. The center will be open from Nov.1 through April 30.
If the Iowa Court center isn’t ready by Nov. 1, then the Moon Towers community room will be utilized, as it was last winter.
The purpose of the warming center is to provide low-barrier access to a warm and safe place to sleep overnight, as well as provide referrals and connections to a variety of services.
Some of those services focus on recovery, housing security, food and nutritional stability, and mental health.
The city’s $60,000 grant toward the shelter is less than in past years but the Knox County 708 Board of Mental Health contributed $50,000.
Overall, that’s a nearly 70% funding increase for the center in 2023-24 with much of that going to increasing staff.
