Back Bay Mission calls for overnight homeless shelter

One organization in Biloxi is trying to open the Gulf Coast’s first overnight low barrier homeless shelter.

With temperatures climbing well above 100 this season, the homeless population is at serious risk. After the heat related deaths of multiple homeless people in Biloxi, Back Bay Mission, a day time shelter for the homeless, decided that it is time to do something.

Back Bay wants to build the Gulf Coast’s first low-barrier overnight shelter. The regulars at the mission, Michael Killgore and Shane Mathews, say it would be nice to have a cool place to stay at night. Mathews said, “It would be really good to have some place to go. It is unfortunate that some folks cannot deal with the weather we’re having.”

Kilgore said, “I think it would be beneficial cause the heat has been pretty bad.”

Back Bay proposed a parking lot of miniature houses on wheels for the homeless, but have not made progress for funding the project.

Back Bay Mission held multiple town hall meetings to convey the need for an overnight homeless shelter. Client Services Director Sarah Smith says some people have a ‘not in my backyard’ mentality, meaning they don’t want homeless people anywhere near their homes. “I think people have this idea that people are inherently bad if they’re homeless and that’s just not truthful. A lot of these people have severe trauma in their lives, they struggle with mental health, they have bad home lives. I know some that come from adoption or have been phased out of the system.”

A low-barrier shelter means that individuals don’t have to be free from addiction to stay at the shelter. They can bring their children, pets, and belongings. Back Bay Mission Executive Director James Pennington says they want it to be a place anyone would want to go and be safe. “The goal for anybody who comes to our day shelter, but especially with an overnight shelter or our small bedroom on wheels, is sustainability and to meet them where they’re at. If they have mental health issues, to make sure they’re getting the medication they need, the therapy they need.”

James also mentioned that many local businesses have been generous in their support of the mission.