Daytime Homeless Shelter Opens In Madison

A daytime warming shelter for the homeless in Madison opened Wednesday.

The Madison Common Council on Tuesday night approved Porchlight’s plan for a temporary daytime shelter at the old Don Miller building on East Washington Avenue.

The vacant car dealership has been transformed into a place where people can go during the day to get out of the cold.

Homeless advocates said the shelter provides a vital service for the community, especially after the Central Library and state Capitol basement won’t be open to the homeless this winter.

“We just wanted to give people a space where they could come in during the day and get coffee, warm up a little bit, have a place to get some things done, whether it be looking for employment or housing,” said Andrea Lengyel, of Porchlight.

The shelter will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., which is when most evening shelters would open.

Porchlight officials also said they hope to get Internet access at the facility next week so they can offer outreach services to people who come to the shelter.

They said they expect 75 to 100 people will come to the shelter each day.