Flagstaff homeless shelter sees overwhelming demand; 104 bed facility nears completion
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — Flagstaff’s only homeless shelter deals with an overflow of dozens of people every night. However, after years of dealing with red tape from the city, the shelter nears completion of a new facility to nearly double capacity.
Ross Schaefer, executive director of Flagstaff Shelter Services (FSS), says they’ve seen numbers skyrocket since the only other shelter in Flagstaff closed last year. It’s also the only emergency shelter in Coconino County.
“Not only are we serving 170 people a night at our congregate shelter across town but we’re also serving close to 70 additional people a night in an overflow shelter,” Schaefer said.
The Motel 6 off Lucky Lane was supposed to open as their newest location a few months after FSS purchased the almost $9 million building in 2023. Two years later, the Lantern is finally nearing completion and will add 104 beds.
“Turns out when you buy a building from the 1970s, it’s going to have some challenges,” Schaefer said.
She said a lot of internal work stalled construction until now. FSS is modeling this building after the success of the Crown, the first transitional housing unit remodeled in 2022.
Schaefer said she looks at the “Crown” and the soon-to-open “Lantern” as bridges for people into permanent housing. While they aren’t congregate shelters, they are rooms for families or individuals to have a safe space to get back on their feet and move on.
“We saw that in the first year of folks coming in at the crown, 30% of those people were self-resolving out of homelessness,” Schaefer said.
The new facility will offer mental and physical health services and resources for people to find work and permanent housing. Schaefer believes this building will change lives.
“A love letter to getting people into housing and what the power of housing is,” she said. “It’s really going to change the game when it comes to what we can provide to people in crisis. Have people have that quiet space to get it together and get on with it.”
Schaefer said they are nearing completion and should be done by early summer. She also said the community can help by donating things like toilet paper, soap, and other items found in homes.
You can visit their website for more information about how to help or access their services.
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