STERLING, Ill. — The Twin Cities Homeless Shelter — formerly Twin Cities PADS Homeless Shelter — is a place of new opportunities for many in Sterling and Rock Falls.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shelter received funding through grants that would be used for facility upgrades, giving the shelter more opportunities to help those in need.
"Over the last few years, we would have anywhere from eight to 10 people here," the shelter president Steve Yde said. "It now has been as high as 23 to 24." Yde added that the downside to this is COVID funding is no longer available to help with the influx of people.
Today, the shelter relies on private donations to help fund salaries for its full-time staff and any other needs. However, it was discovered their 10-year-old roof was installed improperly, leading to water damage within the building.
"We've lost shingles, but we've always just called the person that did it and had to repair it," Yde said. "After so many times of doing that, we said enough was enough. That's when we found out the real cause of the issue and we realized there was no budget for a new roof."
Yde has been getting quotes for the roof but believes fixing it will cost them nearly $30,000. He wants to fix it as soon as possible before mold grows and becomes a bigger issue for the shelter but to do so, he is hoping for help from the community.
"We obviously would like to put a roof that's going to last for 30 years up there, that's what we really want," Yde added. "We're gonna figure out how to repair the roof and we're going to keep going no matter what."
To donate to the Twin Cities Homeless Shelter, visit their website by clicking here.