Opportunity Campus serves more than 125 nightly in first two weeks

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia's Opportunity Campus overnight shelter has been 85-90% full each night since its opening more than two weeks ago.

The 150-bed Waypoint Shelter opened on July 13. Shelter Director Jessica McNear said about 128-135 people experiencing hardship and homelessness in Boone County have been staying each night.

Amid an extreme heat wave in Mid-Missouri, McNear said the Opportunity Campus' New Day Center is also welcoming in about 15 people to its overnight cooling center. That center is across the hall from the Waypoint Shelter.

Having both shelters has staff feeling "well prepared" for the winter.

"We have cots that we can utilize in our vestibule area so we can have overflow with appropriate staffing. And it's been so convenient to have New Day next door," McNear said. "So when we have people come in, and we might be at capacity, we're able to just route them right next door to their warming and cooling area."

While there are extra cots on hand in case of an influx, the Opportunity Campus also only allows people who became homeless in Boone County to stay at the shelter to avoid exceeding capacity. Staff described how it verifies residency.

"Most people are pretty forthcoming just in small talk and 'Where are you from?' and 'Where are you coming from?' and 'How did you get here?'" McNear said. "And if they somehow get past the intake process into shelter and they're from out of town, usually then we're having conversations in case management about 'Where did we become homeless?' 'Do we have outstanding rent payments?' 'Do we have outstanding utility bills or things that we need to take care of?'"

McNear said if someone is "turned away" from the Opportunity Campus because they are from outside Boone County, staff will still work to get them in touch with other shelters and resources.

"We've had some that have been sent from other areas that we're unfortunately not able to bring into shelter," McNear said. "We just don't have the capacity to support other counties or the state at this point. So we've had a few drop-offs from other counties and places, but not as many as we maybe thought might happen."

Since the old shelter on Ashley Street in Columbia closed and dissolved with others into the new 30,000-plus-square-foot facility, McNear said they haven't had many new guests.

"The ones that seem to be new faces are either they've come for medical services and maybe gotten stranded, or other counties trying to maybe bring people in and drop them off," McNear said. "And we've been pretty good about catching them at the door and rerouting either back to their community or identify transportation to help them get there."

Outreach teams for the shelter, which include Columbia police officers, have been reporting seeing a few new faces outside the shelter.

"I think there's more [people] potentially that haven't come in to shelter yet that we're hearing from our outreach teams. They're seeing some new folks," McNear said. "The majority, unfortunately, seem to be seniors who just are on a fixed income and they're coming into homelessness for the first time. They just can't make ends meet, or they had the death of a spouse."

Some younger people have also been seeking shelter at the Opportunity Campus.

"We have quite a few younger folks coming in that have aged out of the foster care system, and I think are just kind of looking for where they can settle and get some support," McNear said.

The Waypoint Shelter welcomes people 18 years old and older. The New Day Center's age minimum is 21 years old. McNear said there can be exceptions.

"In an emergency situation. Let's say it's the middle of the night and there's nowhere else for someone to go. In some situations, we may be able to bring someone in just for the night. That requires us to put them in a separate area, which requires me to pull a staff so that they're supervision and make sure they're safe. So it's not something we can do regularly or often," McNear said.

The shelter is one of few in Missouri that allows pets. McNear said while it has fluctuated, the shelter had five dogs in kennels on Tuesday.

"They're all in quarantine while we wait on their rabies vaccinations to kick in," McNear said.

And by the end of August, McNear said the campus will feel more like a school campus with classes.

"There is a lot of excitement and anticipation around that," McNear said. "We have a big lineup of opportunities for our guests to get engaged and learn new skills."

In the Opportunity Campus' "next phase," McNear said they'll start offering support groups, basic life skills classes, like cooking, financial coaching and more.

"We have connections at local colleges that are willing to come in and have tutoring hours or study hours because we have people who are working towards their GED or their HiSET, or we even have college students," McNear said.

Case managers have already been working with people to get them rehabilitated and connected with proper resources. McNear said the bringing together of about 30 local nonprofits in one location has been a game-changer.

"The sharing our offices and the collaborating has already started so that we know we're not duplicating services. We're not sending people down ten different paths. Everything about it has been really amazing and far exceeded my expectations in terms of starting a new program and a new facility," McNear said.

Success stories are already emerging from the Opportunity Campus.

"I got a message from one of our case managers today that they were able to get someone housed," McNear said.

The Opportunity Campus has a six-member security team that also is available to respond to concerns from nearby business owners and residents about people on their property.

McNear said the security team has expanded its reach down the Business Loop to North Garth Avenue, near Boost Mobile. Voluntary Action Center Executive Director Ed Stansberry told ABC 17 in early July that security was originally planned for residents and business in the surrounding block.

"We're not law enforcement. If a crime is being committed, we can't do anything about that. But if it's someone that we can come down and ask questions and say, 'Hey, are you lost or are you needing somewhere to go,' we're happy to do those things," McNear said.