The new, highly anticipated homeless shelter at the VAC Opportunity Campus opened Monday with 150 beds, space for pets and access to meals, showers, laundry and other services.
The year-round shelter called Waypoint was designed to accommodate significantly more people who need a consistent place to stay overnight in Columbia. The homeless population in the city was reported to be 309 last year, according to the 2025 State of Homelessness Report.
Waypoint is the third operation to open this month on the VAC Opportunity Campus complex, following the New Day Columbia day center and the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen.
The shelter will serve daily breakfast provided by a rotation of volunteer organizations, as well as the longstanding evening meal served by Loaves and Fishes, said Tramar Lawson, the safety and security manager.
Within the campus complex, clients have access to showers, washers and dryers, wifi, storage lockers and, ultimately, basic medical care. The shelter also holds the Pathways to Permanence program to help anyone actively working toward permanent housing and other goals.
The first check-in for the shelter began at 6:30 p.m. Monday, following dinner at Loaves and Fishes. The soup kitchen opened last week with seating for 118, an extensive kitchen area and more storage space.
Waypoint is the successor to Room at The Inn, the shelter that opened in the particularly harsh winter of 2008 when residents began to notice the impact the weather had on Columbia's homeless population.
For 14 years, Room at the Inn operated seasonally in a series of 20 churches until it began to remain open year-round at the Ashley Street Center, 1509 Ashley St.
"Coming from the Room at the Inn to here is an extremely big difference," Lawson said. "The guests are not right on top of each other."
The old building on Ashley Street held between 80 and 90 cots, and the new facility comes close to doubling that with beds and bunk options. Waypoint also employs 41 staff members, a significant increase from 16 at the former shelter.
"Extra staff is a tremendous help, plus the building size, as well," Lawson said.
He and fellow staffers anticipate an increase in stays at the new facility, notably among those with pets. The new shelter has indoor and outdoor kennel runs, a pet washing station and a veterinary exam area for basic medical checkups.
"I feel like we're going to get a huge rush with people with pets now," Lawson said.
The average stay at a Columbia homeless shelter is three to five months, he said. During their stay, case managers will help clients with a list of needs, from obtaining identification to prescription medication. Other staff positions include a housekeeping team to manage laundry and bedding and Lawson's team, which responds to crisis situations and trauma care.
Operations for the campus are expected to cost $1.2 million to $1.5 million annually, with funding coming from its service tenants' rental income, a $585,000 allocation from the city, grants and private donors.
"Our main goal is to help people get back on their feet in a timely manner, not years," Lawson said. "We want to speed up the process and really get these people some help."
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