KANSAS CITY, Mo. — People experiencing homelessness in the Kansas City metro have a new shelter at the Kansas City Convention Center.
Through the winter months, Bartle Hall will be open from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. as the Scott Eicke Warming Center.
“We will have this as a center for folks who are experiencing homelessness who need a place to go," Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
The center has 150 beds available, but will expand if needed. On Friday, 60 people utilized the center.
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“Last night I didn’t get here in time so I couldn’t get in," Brian Pugh said. "So I was just walking the streets all night."
The Scott Eicke Warming Center is named after a man who died out in the cold on New Year's Day.
City leaders said the warming center will help prevent another death, but advocates said the effort is just one step in the right direction.
“This is a Band-Aid," Anton Washington, Creative Innovative Entrepreneurs founder, said. "They need transitional housing, medical services and they also need mental health services."
City employees, advocates and volunteers will staff the center through March 20.
Anyone who needs shelter should enter the convention center at West 13th and Central streets in Kansas City, Missouri.
