The Brainerd City Council will allow a homeless shelter to stay open year around, a year after denying a similar request.
For more than four years, the Bridge on 7th shelter has provided a warm place for adults experiencing homelessness to spend the night. The overnight shelter is open from September through April.
Last year, Brainerd City Council rejected a request to allow it to operate through the summer, sparking a community debate. City council members and the police chief voiced concerns that the shelter is a draw for people from outside of the community.
Without a shelter, some community members worried that people wouldn’t have a safe place to stay. The city adopted a ban on camping on public property in 2024.
Bridges of Hope, the nonprofit that operates the shelter, re-applied for a year-round permit this year after working to address city officials’ concerns. The city council unanimously approved the interim use permit Monday night.
Council members praised the collaborative effort to add safeguards and address concerns.
“We’re miles beyond where we were a year ago,” said Mike O’Day, council president. “We’re trying to take care of our community and the most vulnerable, but not every other community besides our own.”
Jana Shogren, executive director of Bridges of Hope, said the nonprofit has improved its collaboration with other community organizations that serve people in need.
That includes creating a program called Pathways, which connects shelter guests to community services. People who stay at the shelter will be required to agree to participate in a personalized plan within three to five days to address housing, employment, mental health, chemical dependency or other issues that might be barriers, Shogren said.
Bridges also worked with Brainerd Police Chief John Davis to develop a safety plan to guide how the shelter responds to behavior problems or potentially dangerous situations and set clear expectations for staffing, supervision and training.
“All of this reflects a more coordinated and accountable approach to operating the shelter safely, and it builds on everything we've learned over the past four and a half years,” Shogren said.
The permit allows the shelter to operate year round for one year, until April 30, 2027. The council can revoke the permit if the police department decides the shelter has been used in a “disorderly manner.”