Friends in Service Helping men's shelter fully reopened

Friends in Service Helping received an all clear from the state this week to fully reopen Carson City's only homeless shelter for men.

Shuttered since April when an electrical fire in a light fixture burned a hole in the drywall, FISH Executive Director Jim Peckham said the reopening was delayed so that state could coordinate with multiple agencies to ensure that all the code requirements were met; fire sprinklers could be installed to meet state code and the city could put in a designated water line for the sprinklers.

Last week the shelter received a certificate of occupancy for six beds. Monday night the certificate came to completely reopen the shelter.

Focus House is an emergency shelter for single men. Each tenant is given a maximum of 90 days. In order to stay there they must not consume drugs or alcohol, and must be actively looking for employment, be employed or participating in programs that will help them to move toward independence. If nothing else they should be volunteering at FISH's food bank and thrift store to learn skills useful in the workplace, said Peckham.

"The whole goal is if they want to stay in the shelter they have to be taking steps toward self-sufficiency," said Peckham.

He said of the 21 men displaced after the April fire, FISH helped secure jobs for 15 of them.

He said the shelter averages about 12 to 14 men a month.