About 30 patrons of the Glory Hole homeless shelter in Juneau will spend a little longer than originally expected in temporary emergency housing.
The facility closed after a busted water pipe caused a major flood on Nov. 30. The initial estimate for repairs was about a month, but executive director Mariya Lovishchuk now says it could take until mid-January.
“Most of the ceilings and most of the floors, everywhere except for on the first floor, were damaged and need to be completely replaced. A lot of the sheetrock on the walls needs to be replaced, and things have to be painted,” Lovishchuk says. “The electrical and plumbing is mostly done, and then a bunch of fixtures still have to be replaced.”
Lovishchuk says there are other challenges besides building repairs that need to be dealt with before the shelter reopens.
“For instance, a lot of our bunk beds were destroyed and so now we are trying to find industrial grade bunk beds,” she says. “And it’s actually not as easy as originally anticipated.”
Most of the Glory Hole’s regular clients are currently housed at Juneau International Hostel. Meals are being served at Holy Trinity Church, which is also providing office space for staff. Lovishchuk says the soup kitchen will need to find another location in January, when the church has a conflict. But she’s hopeful the hostel will continue to provide housing until the shelter resumes operations.
She was initially worried the closure would affect cash donations during the holiday giving season, but she says that’s no longer a concern. Due to the closure, the Glory Hole is not accepting as many donations of food and clothing as usual, but Lovishchuk says Christmas gifts are still needed for patrons on Thursday.
“Presents that could be given to anybody, like especially things like warm gloves and warm hats would be, I think, very helpful,” Lovishchuk says.
She says those types of donations can be dropped off at Holy Trinity’s McPhetres Hall or at the hostel during normal business hours.
