The Valley House homeless shelter, often at max capacity, is currently constructing an expansion to handle the large population of homeless individuals in the Magic Valley.
Now, it's asking for community help to complete the project.
Every unit at the Valley House is full, and their phones are still ringing with people looking for shelter.
“We need it bad,” said Valley House Executive Director John Spiers. “Desperately right now.”
Their Beyond Shelter, which will be a two-story expansion able to house about 60 more people, recently broke ground. The expansion is being built in three phases, and currently, they only have funding to finish the first stage and start the second.
Related: Magic Valley residents find a stable home in Valley House as homeless population grows
“Prices of building materials keep going through the roof,” said Spiers. “We were in a really good place when it came to finances with this, but as the prices keep skyrocketing on everything, it makes it a little bit more challenging for us.”
On Friday, Valley House hosted an open house, inviting suppliers and anyone who may be willing to come and either partner with them or help them get the expansion paid for. The total cost of the project is around $1.3 million.
Twin Falls County Commissioner Brent Reinke said he expects the homeless population in the county to continue to grow.
“Anything that Twin Falls County can do to assist in those relationships to help meet the needs of those in our county, we want to support,” Reinke said.
