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Last updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2015
(COLUMBUS) - The Columbus Township Trustee’s Office and Love Chapel are partnering to create a homeless shelter in a vacant building in east Columbus.
Elizabeth Kestler, with Love Chapel, says that she and Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson will ask the Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals for a zoning variance for a township-owned building at 421 South Mapleton St. on the city's east side. The site is currently zoned: Commercial: Community Center.
Kestler says the building, to be named Brighter Days Housing, measures approximately 3,500 square-feet. The entire lot size is 8,400 square-feet. She adds that the location will serve as an entry point for emergency housing for those needing shelter. Kestler noted that the location is a great one for shelter, as other resources necessary to help people get back on their feet are in the immediate area.
Kestler says that there has been a lot of support for this project. She noted that this area has been in need of a homeless shelter for quite some time.
Community support will be vital to the success of this endeavor. While the shelter will be staffed every hour of every day by at least one full-time employee, she says that they will need about 100 volunteers per month. These volunteers would work a few hours to help maintain the home and grounds.
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