Many of the dozens of visitors who walked through Howard County's new homeless shelter and crisis center May 16 marveled at the spacious rooms, modern design and new furniture inside the 24,000-square-foot facility.

The new $5.12 million building in west Columbia features 50 beds, resident lounges, a kitchen and an office to house a 24-hour crisis hotline.

Rooms for women and families occupy portions of the ground floor, and an elevator and a broad stairway lead to the second level, where the men's rooms are located.

The residents who move into the shelter this week will stay in rooms with wooden furniture, fresh white walls and large windows. They will use new bathrooms, washing machines and dryers.

"This is tremendous," County Council member Jennifer Terrasa said as she toured the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center May 16. "Every next step in here is amazing."

The nonprofit Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center Inc., which is the county's only year-round homeless shelter, provides three months of emergency housing for residents and allows residents to seek housing extensions of up to 15 months.

The center also takes 25,000 calls a year on its 24-hour hotline from people considering suicide as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The new two-story center, on Freetown Road near Atholton High School, replaces an outdated 10,000 square-foot facility that housed 32 beds and a smaller hotline headquarters.

'Will make significant impact'

Grassroots leaders said they hope the new center will keep pace with the demand for its services.

"It will make a significant impact on those in need," said Bob Fleishman, president of Grassroots' board of directors. "Unfortunately, it will not provide all of the needs."

Prior to its expansion, between July 2006 and June 2007, the Grassroots shelter served 350 homeless people, said Susan Rosenbaum, director of Howard County's Department of Citizens Services.

However, shelter staff also turn away dozens of people each year because they do not have enough space, while others might not seek assistance, she said.

The size of Howard County's homeless population is difficult to determine as people continuously lose their jobs and homes, she added.

Grassroots executive director Andrea Ingram said she expects the new facility to be at capacity shortly after it opens this week.

"The atmosphere and dignity of this building will allow us to treat people in a space that recognizes their dignity," she said.

The Grassroots center was founded in 1969 as a peer-counseling agency for drugs and suicide prevention. Over time, the volunteer program became a professional program. It has been in its current location for 18 years.

Ten years ago, officials of Grassroots recognized a need for greater space, so they launched a search for land on which to build a larger, more modern facility, Rosenbaum said.

After some communities resisted the idea of having an intervention center and shelter in their neighborhood, officials decided to build the facility at its existing site by demolishing the older building.

The new facility was funded through state and county contributions, grants, and private donations.

E-mail Andrei Blakely at ablakely@patuxent.com.

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