A shelter for the toughest season: Nameless Coalition for the Homeless prepares to open winter shelter

BEMIDJI—A group of people gathered at Peoples Church almost two years ago with a common goal—to create a homeless shelter before snowfall.

On Friday, a key fit a lock that opened a door to what will become the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless shelter this fall.

A lot has happened since that initial meeting, on Nov. 18, 2013. The group became a coalition and is now a non-profit in the process of purchasing the former Headwaters Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church on the corner of Sixth Street and America Avenue Northwest downtown. The Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board passed an interim use permit and buffer zone variance Wednesday allowing the Coalition's Stopgap Committee to operate a seasonal overnight shelter for chronic inebriates at the site.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/3819302-shelter-toughest-season-nameless-coalition-homeless-prepares-open-winter-shelter