Bethlehem Inn receives $42,000 in aid

Waseca County appropriated $42,000 in “homelessness prevention aid” to Bethlehem Inn shelter in Waseca during the Oct. 6 county board meeting. Bethlehem Inn program administrator Sue McIntosh and shelter manager Angie Alvarez told commissioners that the shelter is supported entirely by grants and private donations; they went on to say that, in the current economic environment, the number of donations is shrinking.

 

Since being founded in 2019, McIntosh said, Bethlehem Inn has provided shelter for just over 500 women and children, often allowing them to escape abusive or dangerous circumstances. While part of the Bethlehem Inn caseload, women are given access to training and assistance to help them establish  independent lifestyles. This may include anything from applying for government support programs to earning a GED or driver’s license.

 

McIntosh revealed there are currently seven families living in the facility, which accepts only women and children. Most of the people taken in, she said, are from Waseca County.

 

Homelessness prevention aid is money appropriated to each Minnesota county based on its  population. The funds are “certified” a year in advance and then paid out in two equal parts the following year, in July and December. The appropriation of $42,000 is both the money already received in 2026 and the funds expected in 2027.

 

The money is designated specifically for helping prevent homelessness, and is expected to focus primarily on keeping children under age 18 in safe, healthy environments. If counties do not use the money by the end of the year after receiving it, it must be returned to the state.