Nonprofit plans 50-bed homeless shelter in Scranton

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania nonprofit is proposing to open a 50-bed homeless shelter in Scranton.

The Keystone Mission is seeking the city's permission to open an overnight shelter with a day center and support services. The zoning board will hear the matter on Wednesday.

The group currently operates a day facility that provides hot meals, clothing, diapers and other essentials. It's one of the few facilities that serves the city's homeless population. The new shelter would not only offer overnight lodging but job training and other services meant to get people into permanent homes.

"We want to build a transformation center," the mission's CEO, Justin Behrens, told The Times-Tribune of Scranton.

Residents have described the group's current facility as a nuisance, saying they have found syringes, feces and garbage in the neighborhood. Mission officials have said they can only control guests on mission property.

If the board approves the overnight shelter, the mission said it would keep its current building and use it as a food and clothing distribution center for low-income residents, Behrens said.

"It would not be a place for the homeless to come to," he said.

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