BUTTE – If everything had gone as planned, The Butte Rescue Mission would have had its homeless shelter up and running by now.
But if you come out to the site at the end of East Platinum Street, you can see they still have a long way to go. The Rescue Mission Director Rocky Lyons says the shelter probably won’t be ready until mid-December, but cold weather has already moved into the Butte area and it’s expected to get colder over the next two months.
Many community groups are worried about how the homeless will make it until the shelter is ready.
“So I had someone come to my office yesterday who is living in a tent in our community and needing some supplies, you know, cold hands, needs a hat, boots, things like that,” said Cassie Wick with the Montana Independent Living Project.
Some concerned citizens are already making plans to try to get supplies to the homeless to give them temporary relief from the cold until this shelter is ready.
“Service organization are going to partner together to do a drive very soon and we’re going to be very specific about the things that are needed for people that are trying to get through this weather right now. While it’s not ideal I think that it’s we’re doing what we can to try and help people stay warm,” said Wick
And they’re counting on the generosity of people in Butte.
“People in Butte are incredibly generous and so I believe would give anything and everything to make sure that everyone’s okay, so we want to make sure when we do this we’re getting the items that are necessary so that they’re getting in the hands of the people that need them most,” said Wick.
Reporting by John Emeigh for MTN News
