Baraboo planning to open its only homeless shelter

A homeless shelter is planning to come to Baraboo, after the city’s only shelter closed last March.

Rev. Dave Mowers is the president of the board for the Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter. He gave community leaders a tour of the future site on 1200 Silver Circle.

“Jesus cares about those folks, so for me that’s been the only motivator that I needed. When it became clear this was a need, I said, ‘I can’t really say no to this because this was just so clearly what Christian people ought to be about.’”

According to Mowers, there are no homeless shelters in Baraboo or nearby Sauk City and Prairie du Sac. He added that in the entire county, there are no beds for men, only spaces for women and children.

Mowers said he believes there are 80 to 100 people in Sauk County who are homeless at any given time. Most of them are not unsheltered, he said.

Plans for the homeless shelter are to serve up to 30 clients, providing a bed and a hot meal every day. The Central WI Community Action Council would handle day-to-day operations, but the vision is to provide support for the long-run, in housing and employment.

Running a “brand new organization with no money,” Mowers said he is thankful for the community’s commitment to the shelter.

He said McGann Furniture Store will provide flooring, Jose’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant will donate kitchen appliances and local plumbers will offer their services on a work day.

“[For] a lot of things, we didn’t go looking for it,” he said. “They came to us. That’s a really humbling thing to be a part of, to know that this vision is something the public is really excited about and the community is really pulling behind.”

The Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter is accepting donations through PayPal to BarabooShelter@gmail.com. The shelter is also accepting written checks made out to Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter, deliverable to 111 6th St. Baraboo, WI 53913.