(Dec. 20) - The Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation broke ground on their new homeless shelter Wednesday morning.

Located on Kathleen Street, between Scott and Stoddard, the new facility has been in the works for several years.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Joel Evans, president and CEO of DAEOC. “It’s been almost three years since we applied for this money.”

DAEOC received the money through an ARPA grant and Evans said the shelter is needed.

“We’re excited to have this project,” Evans said. “Our homeless shelter was always full, and we always had a waiting list and had some challenges. We were in a flood prone area and the floods ended up getting us and closing that shelter.”

The new shelter will be about three times the capacity of the old shelter and will be able to meet more needs of the community.

Evans said homelessness in rural areas is different than what you see on television or what you see in big cities. He said in rural America, they blend into the fabric of our community, and they aren’t as obvious.

“The homeless in our community are living in buildings that aren’t fit for habitation -- living in cars, living in tents. Hopefully we can give them a facility that will give them the shelter they need to be successful and the staff there can provide wrap-around services that can help them address the issues that have led to them being in a situation of homelessness,” Evans said.

DAEOC staff will help the homeless address those bottom-tier needs of safety and security with dignity and respect so they can work on some of the areas that are higher up on the hierarchy of needs. Evans said by doing that, those who stay at the shelter can work on education and some of the other problems that may have led to them being in a homeless situation.

Many of the partners that helped make the new shelter were in attendance for the groundbreaking, but Evans gave special recognition to the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) and the City of Sikeston, who donated the lot to DAEOC.

Evans said Sikeston DPS Chief Jim McMillen described the block as being one of the most crime ridden blocks in the City of Sikeston just a few years ago.

“The homes were derelict, and folks were squatting in the houses, there was drug use and lots of crime here,” Evans said. “The LCRA cleaned up this lot, cleaned up the deeds to this lot and donated this lot to us to take what was a draw on the city’s assets through the need for law enforcement to being a real asset to the community. We’re excited to be a partner in that and provide that service.”

The new homeless shelter may not be what many envision a homeless shelter to be, as it won’t be a big dorm room with cots and people sleeping side-by-side.

“Our vision doesn’t look like that,” Evans said. “It will be efficiency-like apartment units, 12 units, with eight being single-bedroom and four being two-bedroom where families can stay together.”

Unlike in many shelters where families have to be separated, the families will be housed in a unit that looks like an apartment with a kitchenette and bedrooms and their own restroom. Wrap-around services will also be available by DAEOC staff.

“There are as many reasons for homelessness as you can imagine and we know DAEOC is not an expert in all the fields to address those, but we have the resources and community partners to reach out and address those needs,” Evans said. “Hopefully (it will help) folks to move into more normalized housing and safety.”