ESCANABA — With winter approaching, its almost time for Hope at the Inn, the area’s rotating homeless shelter, to begin serving community members in need, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the program to make significant changes.

The shelter is spearheaded by the Salvation Army but is an ecumenical joint effort, with local churches housing guests for a week at a time. Volunteers provide the guests with evening and morning meals, personal hygiene kits, and a clean and safe place to sleep.

However, providing these services against the backdrop of the pandemic will be very different than it has been in the past.

During past seasons, those in need could come directly to the host church — the location of which was printed in the Daily Press as well as posted throughout the community — when they needed a place to stay. This year, the schedule will be more secretive.

“We don’t want the public to know which churches are doing HATI at any given time, because we don’t want individuals going there. They will be turned away,” said Merry Esp, Salvation Army case manager.

The primary reason for the change is guidelines that have been handed down by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state, and Public Health Delta Menominee Counties. To comply with the rules, the shelter has to reduce the number of both guests and volunteers. One way the number of volunteers can be reduced is to eliminate the intake step at the host church and shift those responsibilities to the Salvation Army.

“So all of our intake is happening at the Salvation Army because we have to reduce volunteers in the church itself to keep everyone safe,” said Esp.

Anyone who is in need of the shelter’s services is asked to call the Salvation Army at 906-786-0590 from 9 a.m. to noon or from 1 to 3:30 p.m. to begin the intake process. If someone finds themselves in a situation where they will need shelter that night and it is after 3:30 p.m., they are asked to contact Escanaba Public Safety at 906-786-5911.

“Public safety is working closely with the Salvation Army and they understand what to do,” said Esp.

Most of HATI’s operations will be similar to past years, but there will be some changes to increase social distancing between guests and volunteers. Extra personal protective equipment will be made available as well as sanitizing supplies; volunteers, guests and anyone else involved with the shelter will receive temperature checks before coming into contact with others; the guests will be have more independence with dinners to reduce contact with volunteers; and each guest will be assigned to their own three-man-sized pop-up tent to create a barrier between them and others staying in the shelter.

The new challenges for HATI have added additional strain to the operation, but there are ways community members can help.

“We are always, always, always looking for dedicated volunteers and that includes our HATI program,” said Esp, noting that while the shelter aimed to keep everyone as safe as possible, HATI is aware of grants to help support anyone who may have to quarantine as a result of their volunteering with the shelter.

Another way the community can help is by providing financial donations, which will be especially needed as the shelter works to ofset the costs of PPE, tents, and cleaning supplies. While it may be tempting to provide these physical items directly, Esp says financial donations offer more bang for the buck.

“We can buy things in bulk for a lot cheaper than people can going to the store and buying it. (We can) stretch those dollars a long way compared to the consumer,” she said.

Donations can be made by mail to Hope At The Inn, c/o The Salvation Army, PO Box 424, Escanaba, MI, 49829. Checks should be made out to the Salvation Army with “HATI” written in the memo line.