OSHKOSH, Wis–It’s not just staffing shortages that are shutting down the Day by Day Warming Shelter in Oshkosh the next couple of weeks. According to a release from Shelter Board President Gretchen Withers, the facility is seeing an increase in the use of illegal drugs by its guests.
Withers says the closure until January 9th will provide staff time to clear the building of illegal drugs and paraphernalia and to undergo additional training to deal with the issue. The shelter will also work on revising their rules of use and identifying appropriate consequences for not following the rules.
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PRESS RELEASE
Over the past weeks, the Day by Day Shelter has been experiencing guests use of illegal drugs during their stay at the Shelter, causing significant disruption to the safety of our staff and guests. Additionally, we are faced with extreme staff shortages. As of December 21, 2022 @ 8:00 a.m. we will be temporarily closing the shelter and will resume normal operation on Monday January 9, 2023.
This closure will allow our workforce to stabilize and focus on our mission, of providing temporary shelter, individualized services, and opportunities for self-sufficiency to empower the most vulnerable adults in our community. Our guest population struggles from the same afflictions as our community at large and as drug abuse plagues our community it has quickly overwhelmed our available resources. The complexities of our guests create a culture that easily shifts with any new guests. To shift our culture back into alignment with our mission, we will be using this time to ensure our Shelter is free from drugs and paraphernalia and staff will receive additional training and have time to collaborate, and we will work to address appropriate staffing needs going forward. The staff will be collaborating on re-establishing healthy boundaries, revising rules along with identifying appropriate consequences that our guests face, when choosing to not follow the established rules. Day by Day Shelter has a strict “zero tolerance” policy regarding illegal drugs being on site.
In the meantime, our staff is working feverishly with our local community partners to find shelter for our guests during this time.
On behalf of the Day by Day Shelter Board and staff, we want to thank our community for all the support you give and ask for your grace, understanding and continued support as we work to ensure a safe environment for our staff and guests.
Gretchen Withers
Board President
Day by Day Warming Shelter
