Council Approves Daytime Homeless Shelter

The homeless in Madison will have access to a new shelter during the day.

The Madison Common Council on Tuesday approved plans for a temporary daytime shelter at the old Don Miller building on East Washington Avenue.

There are a number of options for the homeless to stay on cold nights, but the increasingly cold daytime hours have become a problem with the Capitol basement no long open to the public and the downtown library closed.

The facility, which has been vacant for months, will be run by Porchlight. The shelter could open as early as Wednesday.

Porchlight’s plan allows for the building to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which is when most evening shelters would open.