The Washington County Homeless Project signed a contract last week to purchase a building located at 315 Third St., Marietta, to serve as an overnight emergency shelter. The building will be used to provide overnight shelter to anyone in Washington County that doesn’t have a place to stay at night. (Photo provided)

An emergency shelter that will offer an overnight place to stay for people in Washington County who have nowhere to go just took one step closer to becoming reality last week.

The Washington County Homeless Project signed a contract to purchase a building to act as an overnight emergency shelter, said Homeless Project Chair Robin Bozian.

Bozian said the building is the old Berkshire Hathaway office at 315 Third St.

She said the building is right across from the Marietta Police Department and the Marietta Fire Department and next to Ohio Means Jobs.

“It’s a perfect location for what we want to do,” she said.

The Homeless Project signed a contract for financing for 18 months and has enough money to pay the downpayment and closing, Bozian said.

“We have to raise money,” she said.

According to Bozian they need money to perform needed renovations on the building to get the shelter up and running.

These renovations include a sprinkler system, updated bathrooms that are handicap-accessible, a ramp, an area for a washer and dryer and a kitchenette.

Bozian said once the shelter is open it will serve people who need a place to stay overnight.

“Anybody who’s in Washington County that doesn’t have a place to stay at night can come,” she said.

She said the shelter will open in the late evening at maybe 7 p.m. in the winter and 9 p.m. in the summer and people would need to leave the shelter in the morning at maybe 7 a.m. or 7:30 a.m.

She said the shelter will not be a place where people stay during the day.

She said the Homeless Project plans to connect people who use the shelter with resources and agencies that can help them with things like housing, getting a driver’s license or ID, receiving treatment and getting a job.

“We want to help people move to a point where they can be more stable,” Bozian said.

She said Washington County does not have and has never had something like the overnight emergency shelter and the Homeless Project is excited to expand its outreach.

She said the shelter is important and she wants people to know that moving forward is possible.

“We want to let people know there is hope out there,” Bozian said.

Those interested in donating to help the overnight emergency shelter can make a donation to the Marietta Community Foundation and note the donation is for the shelter; mail donations to P.O. Box 203, Marietta, OH, 45750; or donate through PayPal on the group’s Facebook page, according to Bozian.