By Nancy Madsen

Mankato Free Press

NEW ULM — Pastors in the city are working together to start a homeless shelter to respond to an unmet need.

There are no homeless shelters in Brown County, although the county’s Family Services Department can temporarily house people in local hotels. In one recent school year, the New Ulm Ministerial Association was told, 16 students at Jefferson Elementary School had no permanent address.

“While that’s not technically homeless, they were functionally homeless,” said Jo Anne Taylor, pastor of First United Methodist Church. “We decided let’s start with the most vulnerable population. Let’s start with the children.”

Homelessness is one disruption to stability that can result in major educational drawbacks. So the pastors sought a way to help children in families, usually with a single mother, stay in their New Ulm schools. The closest shelter is Mankato, which means changing schools for children.

Tom Henderson, county Family Services director, said that the county has some government and nonprofit resources to help homeless people and families, but they tend to require a step toward permanent housing.