NEW Community Shelter provides shelter and meals to the homeless in Brown County

GREEN BAY, WI – (WGBW) – For 30 years, the NEW Community Shelter has been providing emergency shelter to homeless adult men and women in Green Bay. While it is one of the most respected shelters in Wisconsin, some don’t know the extent of the program or the help it provides to the homeless in Brown County.

Kris Olson, Director of Development for the NEW Community Shelter, said the shelter does not take some government grants because the grants would limit some of the things the NEW Community Shelter would do to combat homelessness.

“Over 80 percent of our funding, actually it’s closer to 90 percent of our funding, comes from the community. It comes from corporations, foundations, events like the upcoming Meet Me in MargaritaBay event, churches, and others in the community,” Olson said. 

Some of the policies in place at the NEW Community Shelter that can affect government grants include a requirement to be drug and alcohol-free at the time of entry to the shelter and throughout the stay. They do drug testing and breathalyzers multiple times throughout the day. Background checks are conducted, and residents are required to do chores at the shelter. 

“We focus on each individual. Everybody’s story is different when they come here, and everybody’s issues are different,” Olson said. “We’re different in that we help people help themselves. We can provide any tool a person needs, but it’s up to them to do the heavy lifting.”

Olson continues that since the foundation is based on respect for each other, the facility, and the community, they have found great success with the program. She says that people at the shelter are happy with the policies, programs, rules, and expectations.

 “Overall they know we have their best interests at heart, ” said Olson.

The NEW Community Shelter has three programs through which they help the homeless in Brown County. The first is the Emergency Shelter program, which is what people think of when they think of a homeless shelter. It is a place to stay when all other options have been exhausted. The shelter can help 98 adults in the emergency shelter. 

The Transitional Living program has 20 apartments for people who need extra time and care to transition from homelessness to self-sufficient permanent housing.

The Community Meals program is also a very big part of the NEW Community Shelter. Olson said that it is the only community meal program in Northeast Wisconsin that offers meals 365 days a year. They provide dinner every day and lunch on weekends and holidays for adults and children who need a meal.

“We serve well over 200 meals a day,” said Olson. “In our 30-year history, we have served over 2 million meals to people in need.”

People who wish to help the NEW Community Shelter can do so through volunteering, donations, or purchasing handmade items from the shelter residents. The NEW Community Shelter is located at 301 Mather Street in Green Bay.