Story Published:
Dec 8, 2009 at 11:59 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Dec 8, 2009 at 12:57 PM CDT
SPRINGFIELD -- A growing number of families are finding themselves homeless for the holidays. One of the biggest shelters in the city has a waiting list two to three months long.
Directors of the Missouri Hotel on Commercial Street say this is the place to which most people turn once they've exhausted all their resources, like staying with family or friends or paying for a cheap motel. The waiting list at the Missouri Hotel is about 220 people, up by at least 50 from this time last year.
The list was actually higher last September with more than 400 individuals or families. Staff say it's tough to contact everyone on the list because some people no longer have a phone or change their number. What they're finding is a fair number of them are staying in their cars or out on the street.
“That is maybe two-thirds of what really exists, so we know that probably, on any given day or night, there are probably 400 or 500 unsheltered homeless in and about Springfield,” said The Kitchen’s Randy McCoy.
In all, directors say, about 1,000 more people have sought help from The Kitchen's community programs. At its food pantry, the director says requests for food are up 60 percent from two years ago.
If you or someone you know is homeless and needs help or if you would like to help, click on the newscast links section of our website, then click on "the kitchen."
