Some homeless people struggle with shelter access amid Columbia bus route challenges
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
With dangerously cold temperatures sweeping through the region, warming shelters across mid-Missouri have opened their doors Thursday night.
According to data from the Boone County Coalition to End Homelessness, more than 400 people in Boone County are considered homeless. As temperatures dipped into the teens in Columbia, dozens of people lined up outside Room at the Inn on Thursday, hoping to secure a place to stay for the evening.
Bonnie Jo Laughlin was one of the people standing outside waiting to be checked in. Besides her sat a large suitcase that she had to pull across town to get to the shelter. Laughlin said the suitcase was filled with blankets. However, she adds that after tearing her rotator cuff, lugging the suitcase to the shelter can be difficult.
“I don’t want to freeze to death out here. It’s one thing to be out here it’s another to die out here,” Laughlin said.
Shelters like Room at the Inn and Turning Point help save lives. But even with 95 beds, the Room at the Inn is full on most nights meaning some people are forced to find another place to stay.
Last year 37 people died in Missouri from prolonged exposure to the cold leaving some concerned about the difficulties of accessing shelter due to the lack of bus routes.
“I wish that they would run six buses again so we didn't have to sit and in wait. I know there's people that lost their jobs because they couldn't get to work and walking back and forth on the overpasses and stuff, it's kind of scary,” Laughlin said.
Laughlin was one of several people who expressed concerns over the lack of bus routes. The lack of routes means longer wait times for the bus in the cold. But for some people, it also means longer wait times out in front of the shelter, depending on what bus they're able to catch.
City spokesman John Ogan told ABC 17 News in April that a driver shortage prevented the city from restoring the routes to pre-August 2023 service levels.
Go COMO is currently fare-free. However, Lawrenz Carter, who relies on public transportation every day to get to work says that adding fares would impact him.
“I think charging fare for the bus is probably the worst thing we could probably do, given that we have a very large homeless rate out here right now and our job prospects are very low, I think it would probably be a very negative thing for us,” Carter said.
Not being able to stay in city parks is also causing issues for some of Columbia’s homeless, especially the closure of Field Park. Laughlin said the park used to serve as a meeting spot for many of Columbia’s homeless population, but a few “bad apples” ruined it. She said she was recently ticketed by the city for having a tent set up in the park around 10 a.m.
“It’s very detrimental to us. we need it,” Laughlin said. “It’s a block or two from the turning point and it's straight across from here but we are having some problems with drugs and issues with fighting and I get a little upset with them when they do that.”
In Jefferson City, the Salvation Army Center of Hope Shelter has had cots set up in their warming shelter since October. Center of Hope Director Brian Vogeler said they are averaging eight-to-10 people at the shelter each day. While space hasn’t been much of an issue given the size of the facility, Vogeler said they are still seeking donations.
“We have a 31-bed shelter and we also have the cots both of the beds on both sides are twins so we are always in need of blankets,” Vogeler said. “When people ask for a blanket or things like that we usually give it to them. and then gloves and stocking caps. we try to make sure when people come in they have some gloves they have some stocking caps.”
