Chill drives more homeless to local shelter

CROSS (Community Religious Outreach Social Services), the local homeless shelter which opened in December 2008, reports an uptick in clients due to this week's bitterly-cold weather, according to Carl Bailey, the organization's founder.

"We are filling daily," he said. "And we're preparing for even more." The current shelter has a licensed capacity of 28; Bailey said on Tuesday he wasn't certain what that day's occupancy was but that the number changed from day to day.

To make matters worse, the shelter has had plumbing problems this week which for a while required taking children to a nearby fast food restaurant to use the restroom. A temporary fix to the plumbing problems is now in place.

CROSS does not own its current facility and could be forced to move if that building is sold. The all-volunteer group is still working towards a long-term option of building a new shelter. Bailey said the agency has finally received its 501(c)3 tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service, which opens the door for state and federal grants which could not be applied for earlier.

"It's been a long and expensive process," said Bailey.

If the agency gets a site, Bedford Builds Habitat for Humanity has agreed to build a 5,200-square-foot shelter as one of its projects. That facility, said Bailey, could house 18 men, 22 women and four families, plus a staff of three.

But everything, including the center's current short-term operations, is dependent on financial support, said Bailey, and that has been tight. He said CROSS's all-volunteer status has helped make donations go as far as possible, but more are needed.