Emergency Winter Homeless Shelter 2011, 2012

In the fall of 2010, employees at the church homeless shelters in South Minneapolis realized that there would be more need for emergency beds than ever before. Organizing themselves, they began approaching churches who had never before hosted shelters, to see if they could create 100 new temporary "beds" for the winter. River of Life Lutheran and 1st Convenant (downtown) rose to the challenge. The temporary shelter at River of Life ran from January to April 2011, with 40 beds for men, in the gymnasium. It was staffed and managed by St. Stephen Human Services.

Over the summer the conversation continued, and it was decided that River of Life would again open for the next winter, beginning November 1, 2011. Loaves and Fishes continues to provide a ready source of evening meals for shelter guests, Monday through Friday. Groups may sign up to provide the Saturday or Sunday evening meals (see link on the homepage to a Google calendar).