Eight churches in Greater Shepparton were involved in the project, operating a shelter every night over the 11-week winter period.
“It was an initiative and a collaboration of local churches, and it was beautiful how the community responded to that,” Shepparton Salvation Army Corps Captain Karyn Wishart said.
“Over the whole project we had 110 volunteers assist to make sure the project worked successfully.”
Approximately seven people sleeping rough stayed at the shelter each night, which spanned six locations.
Those in need of a place to stay were referred to the churches by BeyondHousing, and Ms Wishart said the housing organisation “created the success of the project”.
“BeyondHousing is our entry point for homelessness assistance here in Greater Shepparton,” she said.
“Homeless people could connect with them, and they were able to be referred into the project.”
Along with providing shelter, the initiative also provided 552 meals to guests.
The community also raised $60,000 to fund the shelter, which was enough to begin planning next year’s project.
“That enabled us so much,” Ms Wishart said.
And even though the program was cut short by two weeks due to COVID-19 lockdowns, it was still deemed a success.
“It was supposed to be for three months,” Greater Shepparton Winter Night Shelter board chair Brendan Lindsay said.
“And it would have been a bit different if (the lockdown was) in the middle of the project ... but the bulk of the project we were able to get through.”
The Winter Night Shelter has been in the works since 2020, when the decision was made to postpone the project to the following year after the first wave of the pandemic hit.
Ms Wishart said the delay meant more planning could be done to ensure the shelter could operate at maximum potential this year.
“It enabled our volunteers to feel confident,” she said.
St Brendan’s Catholic Church, St Mel’s Catholic Church, The Salvation Army, South Shepparton Community Church, Shepparton Uniting Church, Shepparton Seventh-Day Adventist Church, St Mary’s Parish Mooroopna and Mooroopna Uniting Church were all involved in running the shelter.
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