(A Radio Iowa report) – Sioux City Council Member Rick Bertrand reportedly called the community’s homeless shelter a “public nuisance,” which prompted a demonstration in front of City Hall on Monday to show support for the shelter. Shayla Moore is executive director of what’s known as the Warming Shelter. She says the downtown facility is an asset.
“Your presence here speaks today louder than any criticism ever could,” Moore says. “It says that we believe in caring for one another. It says that we believe that every person has value. It says that we will stand together for what is right, even when it is hard.” Moore says it’s untrue to call the vital facility a nuisance. “At the Warming Shelter, we see people on their hardest days. We see struggle, yes, but we also see courage,” Moore says. “We see resilience, we see hope, and today I see that same hope reflected in all of you.”
The shelter helps up to 130 people every day, on average. Annaliese Hansen holds her 18-day-old baby, Cameron, at the Warming Shelter, where she has lived on and off for the past year. “I like it,” Hansen says. “It’s really safe for him and clean, and I like that they give a family a room.”
Many people then attended Monday’s city council meeting to express their concern for the shelter. Another council member says she thinks the shelter has outgrown its downtown location.
(by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)
