Serenity Home Moves Offices to New Location
Clear Lake Area Community Center becomes the new home for The Polk County Salvation Army.
Serenity Home Shelters finish the move by opening their new offices in Clear Lake
The Salvation Army’s Serenity Home Shelter has undergone many changes in the last year. The shelter recently converted from 1 mass homeless shelter located in Balsam Lake to several smaller shelters located throughout Polk County. The last official step in that conversion process took place last week when the Serenity Home Shelter offices opened their doors in their new location in the Clear Lake Area Community Center. The offices, unlike before when the shelter was staffed 24 hours a day, will have office hours of Monday through Friday from 8am until 3pm. Those needing assistance with housing, rental or utility assistance will need to get a hold of staff during those hours.
Local Salvation Army Director Duana Bremer said, “It will be an adjustment for all of us to get used to only having office hours during week days. We were so used to being available 24 hours a day, it’s a change for us and it’s a change for the community.” If someone presents themselves as homeless after hours there will be an emergency phone number available for them to call. The closest shelter for people to go into in the middle of the night is in New Richmond at Grace Place. If a person becomes homeless during the day time hours, Serenity Home Shelter offices are still the place to call.
The homeless shelters of Serenity Home look much different than before. The shelter used to house 17 people in one location, now the design is 3 different homes, located around Polk County that are not staffed 24 hours a day but the rest remains the same. Individuals who stay in shelter are homeless and provided with Case Management by Serenity Home staff who visit the locations throughout the week to ensure that goals are being met and rules are being followed. Residents have been living in two of the homes in Polk County for the last 3 months and some have already had success with securing disability benefits and moving into permanent housing.
For those wanting to learn more about Serenity Home and their changes, the new offices are located in the Clear Lake Community Center, Room 206. The new office phone number is 715-263-2900. The organization did fall a bit behind in their kettle campaign this year and with the expense of the move, the request is out there for donations. The mailing address for people who would like to contribute to the efforts is: Polk County Salvation Army PO BOX 129 Clear Lake, WI 54005. Their Facebook Page is Polk County Salvation Army and the website remains the same at www.SAserenityhome.org
Serenity Home Shelters will be hosting an Open House on February 24th, to show off their new office space to the community from 11am to 1pm. Bremer said, “Plan to attend and see where we are located. While many things have changed, much has remained the same. We are still here serving the homeless, the hungry and others in need in Polk County.”