St. Matthew’s House makes great progress in new homeless shelter for women and children

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
St. Matthew's House
Credit: WINK

St. Matthew’s House has been making great strides in its new women and children homeless shelter.

Donors visiting the construction site were encouraged to leave their signatures on the walls before crews painted the area, Thursday morning.

Bill Curry, the Vice President of Development for St. Matthew’s House, gave WINK News a construction site tour.

Curry shared the layout plan for where the dining hall, kitchen, dormitory, playrooms and offices for the case managers will be.

The 8,000-square-foot facility will have 11 private dorms for residents and 28 beds for single women.

The new location expects to house upwards of 300 women and children per year, as the local Hunger and Homeless Coalition expressed a desperate need for this facility.

According to St. Matthew’s House, an estimated 165 women live in their cars due to being waitlisted for shelter space.

“In general, when our society sees people in crisis of homelessness or addiction, we look the other way cause we aren’t sure what to do,” said Curry. “At St. Matthew’s House, we look people square in the eye and say, ‘We see you,’ ‘We accept you,’ ‘We challenge you,’ but we will also support you in the mission.”

The expected finish date for the Fort Myers homeless shelter is the summer of 2024.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.