Re-entry Alliance Pensacola is closing The Lodges, its 52-bed homeless shelter for women and children, because of the lack of funding, according to its executive director Vinnie Whibbs.
Why this matters:
Whibbs notified The Lodges resident and employees that REAP would close the facility as of Sept. 1. All utilities would be turned off, any residents relocated and all employees terminated.
Dig Deeper:
In 2021, Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola opened The Lodges in the former Salvation Army shelter at 1310 North S St. with funding from Opening Doors Northwest Florida. When that funding ran out on June 30, 2022, REAP went to Pensacola City Council, which approved $200,000 in funding.
On his blog, Commissioner Jeff Bergosh wrote:
My understanding was that REAP had secured ample additional funding and also was working toward its own organic fundraising which would propel it toward self-sufficiency. Apparently, this is not the case.
The commissioner plans to discuss the facility at this week’s County Commission meeting on Thursday.
