The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky had its official opening Tuesday at 436 West 13th St. in Covington, commemorated by a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Those in attendance were advocates of the shelter, partners and members who all made the new state-of-the-art facility possible.
The shelter began its operations back in 2008 in a building located on Scott Boulevard in Covington that was not designed to operate as a shelter; nevertheless, they made that space work for the past 14 years.
The shelter is Northern Kentucky’s only immediate, cold-weather shelter for adults and operates as a low barrier, immediate entrance shelter, removing as many obstacles as possible to get people in the door and out of the cold.
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The new building is 10,000 square feet, giving the facility an additional 5,000 square feet of room to work with than it previously had.
David Drees, CEO of Drees Homes and capital campaign chairman, spoke at the event on behalf of Drees Homes and his late father, Ralph Drees, who helped start the shelter on when he was Kenton County judge/executive. Drees said his father, a home builder and community leader who passed away last year, would be really excited to see how far the shelter has come.
The capital campaign was started last year with a goal to reach $5 million to complete the construction of the new facility. Shelter Executive Director Kim Webb said the campaign had reached approximately $4 million of their $5 million goal.
Shelter advocate Leo Hammons was once a guest at the shelter and now works for them.
“I was treated with compassion and respect, and that’s why I work for them today to give that back,” Hammons said. “To help someone and treat them that way. I work with the staff that is very compassionate and caring, and we do this on a daily basis. We will continue that mission.”
Due to the recent inclement weather, the shelter began providing overnight sheltering at its new facility on Feb. 14 despite not officially being open.
“This is amazing,” Kentucky Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman said. “The support you can just feel in this room as we celebrate the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky.”
Coleman said she was amazed at how the community has pulled off this shelter opening after everything the state and country have faced in the past few years.
“It reminds all of us we can do hard things when we work together,” Coleman said. “Our children one day will look back and see how our leaders have responded.”
Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said everything about things getting done comes to people and partnership.
“This is little Kenton County, little Covington, little Northern Kentucky, but wow, what we can get done when we work together,” Knochelmann said.
