Wednesday evening, the Interfaith Community Shelter Group learned that a building south of St. Michael's Drive the board had been eyeing for an emergency winter shelter would not be available to them after all.

The partnership, which owns the building, was the third set of owners to turn down the church folks in the last month and a half. In this case, the owners said they felt that an adjoining building, which they also owned, would be adversely impacted by the presence of a homeless shelter.

The group's chairman, the Rev. Ken Semon, said he wished the owners had told the board two weeks ago and not four days before the shelter was scheduled to open — and after snow has started falling and temperatures dipped below freezing in Santa Fe.

The shelter board began scrambling, yet again. On Thursday, they looked at another eight sites and are pursuing lease agreements on two of them. But finding commercial buildings of between 3,500 and 7,500 square feet that cost no more than $16 per square foot and aren't in the same neighborhood as day care centers, schools, private homes and busy retail operations has proved challenging.

"We may be trying to square the impossible circle. That's why we need to buy a building," said Guy Gronquist, a member of the shelter board. He said the group would need $800,000 to do that.

Meanwhile, First Presbyterian Church offered to host women and children beginning Sunday, while Holy Faith Episcopal Church will provide housing for men. The shelter group hopes this will only be temporary and its board will be able to sign a lease on a new building within a week.

Last year, the group operated a shelter on St. Michael's Drive that provided 10,000 bed nights to more than 650 homeless people. Volunteers from various faith communities registered guests and provided meals. The group partnered with St. Elizabeth Shelter, which paid and supervised the overnight staff and acted as fiscal agent for the shelter.

Earlier this year, the Interfaith Community Shelter Group incorporated as a nonprofit and is now affiliated with another nonprofit, Faith at Work, which will manage its finances.

The group is expecting higher demand this year. The nightly bed count might be closer to an average of 80, Gronquist said. Last year, the highest was 78.

The interfaith group hopes ultimately to provide a year-round, 24-hour shelter so guests are not "hoofed out at 7 a.m.," Gronquist said. It also wants to offer other services during the day, working with providers such as LifeLink and Healthcare for the Homeless. But Gronquist said he thought this was a couple years off.

For each additional month the shelter operates it would need to find four more faith communities (one per week) to cook the meals and staff the facility between about 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The cost of operating the shelter is estimated at around $20,000 per month including a rent or mortgage payment, utilities, liability insurance and salaries for night staff.

Members of the board interviewed applicants for the paid positions to "make sure we have people who are competent, trustworthy, empathetic and respectful." He said last year there were some staff who were "anything but welcoming."

Susan Odiseos, vice chairman of the shelter group, said there were 50 applicants and, "You could tell it was about more than a paycheck. They are so committed to the mission."

Because the shelter group is now doing the hiring, Gronquist said he thought overnight problems could be dealt with more quickly and effectively.

Odiseos has held two trainings for night staff, team leaders and door checkers.

The group also wants to standardize its policy with regard to homeless people who arrive drunk. Guests who appear to be inebriated will be tested with a Breathalyzer and if they are drunk will be told to come back at 9 p.m. The night staff will then have discretion to admit them, or not.

"We want to discourage that behavior and we want other guests to have supper and be settled, so they are not disturbed by any improper behavior," Gronquist explained. But nobody wants people to freeze to death either, he added.

Another important change from last year is that each of the 14 board members will be responsible for supervising volunteers at least two nights a month. "There will be a board member there every single night," Gronquist said. "In addition, they have committed to dropping in at random times during the night." Gronquist said that on the nights he is supervising, he plans to show up again at 6 a.m. as guest are leaving, "just so I can say, 'Did you have a good night?' " and "if there are problems, we can be aware of them straight away."

Some people, Gronquist said, have asked him if providing emergency shelter is not enabling homelessness, to which he says, "We are not providing suites at the Ritz. (Spending the night in a shelter) is not something any of us would actively seek out."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Interfaith Community Shelter Group is looking for faith communities to staff eight weeks this winter that are not yet covered. Contact the Rev. Bethany Carpenter at Zia United Methodist Church, 471-0997.

Participating faith communities include: Westminster Presbyterian, Holy Trinity Orthodox, First Presbyterian, Holy Faith Episcopal, Zia United Methodist, St. Bede's Episcopal, Temple Beth Shalom, Unity Santa Fe and Center for Spiritual Living, St. John's United Methodist, Christ Lutheran, United Church of Santa Fe, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Maria de la Paz, TaHa Mosque.