Boise’s homeless population continues to grow and, in recent months, its demographics have exhibited a shift.
Daytime shelter Corpus Commons and the Boise Rescue Mission both spoke of an increased number of families with children arriving at their door. In a collaborative effort with Interfaith Sanctuary, the Red Lion Hotel on Fairview Avenue continues to see demand for its 100 rooms dedicated for housing families and the medically fragile. In the case of the Rescue Mission, its shelters are now operating with more women and children than men for the first time in its 66-year history, Jean Lockhart, Boise Rescue Mission’s chief operating officer, said.
For the Boise Rescue Mission, the general increase in homelessness had a variety of interrelated factors including mental and physical health declines and being priced out of homes, Jennifer Gilley, director of Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, said…