The Crossroads shelter is seeing a significant increase in the number of people through their doors.
Crossroads works to provide those with temporary and emergency shelter as well as meet the needs of those facing hunger.
According to the housing census report from Crossroads, the total number of guests staying at all three locations jumped from 474 to 680 since June of 2021 to June of this year; the number of food boxes distributed increased 844 percent.
“No matter where you look, if you go to the grocery store, if you go to pay your electric bill, if you go to buy some new clothes, whatever you’re buying right now costs more money," said Daniel Buller, executive director.
However, inflation and rising prices may not be the main reason people are homeless.
“We see some driving factors like drug and alcohol addiction, or undiagnosed mental health conditions or unaddressed mental health conditions. Those are underlying factors, that even if you take inflation out of the equation, it’s still going to be an issue that needs to be resolved," warned Buller.
Buller was not undermining the effects of the declining economy, especially since it’s affecting business operations too.
“The more people that we serve, the more strain we have on our budget. When you think about heating and cooling, cooking all of those meals and housing all of these people, the day in and day out needs that they have, the extra costs surely has a burden on Crossroads as well," stated Buller.
Even with the influx of guests, Buller assured they are still meeting the needs of the community and are even considering expanding to some smaller, more rural areas.