Connections Shelter to close night shelter

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) -As spring rolls on and summer enters into view, changes are underway for local organizations.

Shelters like Connections Shelter in Mankato are transitioning away from their winter offerings, and Connections’ overnight shelter will close for the season this weekend, reopening in October.

That shelter is currently running at full capacity, with a waiting list of over 300 people, and this past winter the shelter saw more requests for assistance than ever.

Those still staying at the shelter will now need to find somewhere else to go.

“Some of them will go out of town so they’ll head to Rochester or the cities or somewhere else for the summer. And then some of them will be in tents outside,” said Connections Shelter Executive Director Jennifer Echevarria.

During the summer Connections’ Drop-In center will remain open to support people during the day, but that closes each day at 3 p.m.

The organization has an ongoing project to keep the shelter open year-round, but is currently restricted by funding.

Leaders at the shelter said that while they haven’t directly been affected by recent cuts to federal funded programs, they have felt the affects of people donating less due to an uncertain economy.

“We’re trying our best to just maintain our level of service at this point, but we are still working on funding to be able to go year-round, and we’re hoping to do that, fingers crosses, next season,” Echevarria said.

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