‘Built with love,’ Boise’s new Interfaith Sanctuary ready to move people in
After five years of planning work, zoning disputes and legal challenges, Interfaith Sanctuary’s new shelter on State Street is ready for guests to move in, the organization announced Friday.
The city of Boise certified that the shelter, at 4306 W. State Street, passed all major safety inspections and authorized that it could open for business, according to a press release from Interfaith.
The organization said some “minor finishes” were underway, but the space was ready for people to move in.
Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers told the Idaho Statesman in an email that people would begin transitioning to the facility over the next few days. The release said all moves would be “handled carefully and intentionally.”
In January, Mayor Lauren McLean and the organization hosted a ribbon cutting for the new shelter.
The organization is leaving behind its original shelter, a 10,000-square-foot warehouse on River Street, for the 42,000-square-foot building. The new Interfaith features 205 beds and can accommodate 236 for emergency housing. Guests will also be able to stay 24/7, which they weren’t able to do at the previous location.
“For the first time in years, Interfaith will once again serve individuals and families together on one campus, providing shelter and supportive services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” according to the release.
The new shelter includes an on-site medical clinic, an early education classroom, comprehensive case management, full commercial kitchen and spaces for art, job training, education and mental health programming, the release noted.
Peterson-Stigers said getting to this point has been a long process. Interfaith Sanctuary overcame a yearslong legal battle stemming from community pushback on the location of the shelter.
“This Shelter Home was built with love and made possible by an incredibly generous community who believes our most vulnerable neighbors deserve more than a bed and a roof,” Peterson-Stigers said in the release. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who kept their boots on the ground and helped bring this vision to life.”
