Arnolds Park, Iowa (NorthwestIowaNow.com) — In the Iowa Great Lakes, we are famous for our summer population boom and lakeside resorts. But when the tourists leave and the temperatures drop, a hidden crisis remains.
Right now, Dickinson County has no designated homeless shelter. When a local resident falls into crisis, the current “system” often involves driving them two hours away to Sioux Falls—stripping them of their community support just to find a bed.
Regina Reed, Executive Director of ATLAS of the Lakes Area, says the numbers from just this year paint a stark picture.
Reed says those statistics represent neighbors who are often invisible to the rest of the community..
To fix this, ATLAS is working to launch the CHART program—the Community Housing Access Resource Team. It is a model already proven to work in Clay County, and Reed says they have cooperation with Clay County to use their model. The plan has been presented to the Board of Supervisors seeking funding, and Reed welcomes any partnerships to make this work.
Tonight (Thursday December 4) is ATLAS big fundraiser of the year.
ATLAS of the Lakes Area website is LakesAtlas.com
