Hope Street of Siouxland

Providing transitional housing, life skills, and holistic health to women in need.
The purpose of Shesler Hall is to assist homeless women with chronic mental illness to gain stability by providing holistic wellness and life skills to transition to permanent housing. Shesler Hall is a community living environment that enables these women to experience independence to their fullest potential while being in a supportive environment.
Programs

The Emergency Shelter Program serves homeless or near homeless women who have no means of paying the fee. These residents may stay for up to thirty days or longer at no cost, depending upon their situation.

The Transitional Housing Program offers these same services for a period of two years or less to women who have a medical diagnosis of chronic mental illness and are preparing to live on their own.

The Long-Term Housing Program gives a home to women with special needs for an indefinite period of time. These residents have truly made Shesler Hall their home. Most have a medical diagnosis, but others simply require a community living environment.

Services
There are two meals a day. Every resident is welcome to prepare her own breakfast in the morning from cereals, juice, toast, peanut butter and jelly. While residents are on their own for lunch, leftovers are usually available, and peanut butter and jelly are available 24 hours a day. Each evening a hot supper is prepared, with residents helping with the cooking and setting the table. Just before dinner we gather in the dining room to share announcements, the concerns of the days, kudos for those who have made special accomplishments, and a passage is read for evening devotions.
Shesler Hall itself is a lovely, stately building. Each resident lives in a completely furnished room with bed and bedding, a dresser, nightstand, desk and desk chair.

Medication supervision is provided by the Shesler Hall staff for any of our clients who require prescription drugs and nearly all do. This is particularly important for new residents. We make sure that the necessary medications are on hand and that they are taken at the correct time and in the correct dosage. For many this is the first and most important step and one that is key to progress or failure.

There is a Shesler Hall staff member on duty 24-hours a day. Staff is available for counseling and supervision, giving residents the security and structure that has been missing from their lives. The sense of safety that comes from staff presence is extremely important to those who have mental health issues.

Therapy is also provided 24 hours a day by our live-in pet companions.

The Life Skills program is one of the most important things Shesler does to help our residents develop the tools needed to live as independently as possible. Under the direction of our Life Skills Coordinator, the ladies are taught cooking, cleaning, and other skills most of us take for granted.

Perhaps the single most important thing that Shesler has to offer and the most difficult to quantify is that this is a loving home and not simply a house. We live here as a "family" and like any family, we have our disagreements, we have our individual duties and chores, but we are always guided by respect for one another.