A volunteer cleans the cupboards at a men's shelter in Ottumwa, Iowa, that will close this week if funds can't be raised to keep it open. (Photo by Cindy Toopes/Ottumwa, Iowa, Citizen)

CNHI News Service

OTTUMWA, Iowa - One of the few homeless shelters for military veterans in rural southeast Iowa is on the brink of closing because of insufficient operating funds.

The shelter normally accommodates as many as 35 homeless, but financial woes reduced that to 11 current occupants, including a half-dozen military veterans.

It is operated by the Ottumwa Community Outreach Ministry, which says it needs $3,500 to keep the shelter open after Friday.

"That amount will feed 1,150 meals," said Yvonne Baldwin-Greene, director of the operating agency.

She said the Veterans Administration helped the shelter stay open in September but there was no commitment to further assistance.

The shelter opened in November of 2009 in response to a growing population of homeless veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I don't want to see anyone on the street," said Baldwin-
Greene. "(But) I'm not in control; God is. If God wants us to be open, he'll provide and we'll remain open."
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Details for this story were provided by the Ottumwa, Iowa, Courier.