Print edition: 
A local emergency homeless shelter won't have trouble housing more than 100 Wichitans this winter, even though costs have gone up by nearly $28,000, according to shelter officials.
Thanks to an outpouring of donations last season, the Warming Souls Winter Overflow Shelter already has $81,000 earmarked to run its five-month winter shelter, said Janis Cox, co-chairwoman of Advocates to End Chronic Homelessness.
The group needs to raise just $6,000 more for the winter shelter and the fundraising season is just starting.
It's a relief to know the shelter will be open for the fourth year, Cox said.
The $15,000 on hand at the start of last year's fundraising season left Cox wondering whether the shelter could stay open throughout the winter.
The surplus "is amazing," Cox said. "God has provided.
"It's incredible that we have this much on hand."
The Warming Souls Winter Overflow Shelter, a privately-funded emergency shelter that operates during the winter, is overseen by local faith-based group Advocates to End Chronic Homeless.
Inter-Faith Ministries takes care of check-in and shelter operations.
The program has a projected budget of $87,000, Cox said. Last year the shelter cost $59,308 to run.
The shelter operates on a "bare-bones budget," Cox said, to provide cots and food to as many as 100 homeless men and women — for $5.75 a person each night.
It's a 25-cent increase over last year's cost, Cox said, because of a change in women's housing.
Ti'Wiconi Safe Haven donated resources to house about six women each night for all five months last season.
This year, the advocacy group is working with a downtown church to house the women, Cox said.
The men's shelter rotates among five downtown churches for the five-month period.
The shelters are open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. seven nights a week from November to April. A bed and two meals are provided daily.
Free legal services and medical check-ups are available periodically.
With the overflow shelter nearly funded for the upcoming winter, Cox said the group is looking to develop long-term solutions for the area's homeless. Permanent housing is the key, Cox said.
"We really don't want to focus on maintaining people in their homelessness," she said.
"There's a big need in Wichita and the core area for housing for low-income people."
Fundraising is ongoing.
"We do believe that God has provided for this year so we can turn our attention to the future."
