Cold-weather 'Drury' shelter to open Jan. 1; organizers outline services and capacity

Unidentified Speaker (S7) told the committee the cold-weather shelter—referred to in the meeting as the "Drury Shelter"—is slated to open on Jan. 1 and will serve families. "We're at max with, 8 families including 19 children, and the Drury Shelter, which we're gonna call it, is about to open on January 1," S7 said.

S7 and other members described the shelter as a program offering case management and behavioral health components rather than a single-night refuge. "We will also offer case management there, drug and alcohol counseling, mental health components," S7 said. Members said the shelter would be open 24 hours with showers, laundry and meals.

When asked about capacity, S1 explained the shelter was set at 12 beds because that is the number the program can case-manage successfully: "The reason we came up with that number is that we can successfully case manage 12 individuals." Intake timing was described as a quick turnaround; S5 and S1 estimated a typical intake takes about 45 minutes.

S1 and others noted additional resources: Aggie’s emergency shelter programs remain open and may be able to take overflow cases. Committee members said they will post shelter intake instructions on social media and update 2-1-1 listings before opening.