Former Homeless Coalition member working on new shelter
South Range — A homeless shelter is in the works for Houghton County.
Homeless people living in Houghton County have few choices of where to go since there are no shelters in the immediate area. That could change very soon. Local resident Brian Foreman works with homeless teens and families through Child and Family Services. Having previously been a member of the Homeless Coalition, Foreman has seen his share of homelessness with no place to send them for help.
“Well, I think it’s the long history of how many time people say we need one and we always say we need one, we have the numbers, but no one’s stepped forward to do it and I was approached by the Village of
South Range, saying they had a building for me, if I was interested, and that kind of was that final straw that said, okay, let’s just do this,” said Foreman, who founded the shelter.
The building is a former 6 unit apartment complex that has been vacant for about 15 years. It is structurally sound but needs a lot of work.
“The plumbing and wiring look to be somewhat up to date. Some of the pipes did break but they’re copper and they can be fixed. It’s a nice solid building. It’s not hidden, it’s on the main street. It’ll be easy to find and it will be safer that way, too, I feel,” added Foreman.
To get the building ready Foreman will need to raise between $25,000 and $50,000 and a Go Fund Me account, https://www.gofundme.com/4wc5sxws, has been set up to get started.
He’s calling the shelter The Foreman House and hopes to be providing a roof over people’s heads by next winter.