Milwaukee’s only day shelter feeds hundreds of homeless people this Labor Day

MILWAUKEE, WI (CBS 58) – Not forgotten this holiday are those without a place to live. Milwaukee’s only daytime shelter and resource center for homeless adults hosted their annual Labor Day picnic.

Doors at Repairs of the Breach opened at 11A.M. but even before then people lined the sidewalk as they waited for the doors to open for a warm meal.

A meal was served to more than 300 people, including Roxanne Novak.

“It’s good that people are out here helping you when you need it the most,” says Novak.

Novak has been homeless for the past six months, at times not knowing where her next meal will come from.

“Right now I’m staying in a tent underneath the bridge,” says Novak.

That’s why Novak says days like today when a free meal is served are vital to her, especially on a holiday when many places are closed.

“Repairers has a reputation for being open during these times that we just do a big luncheon,” says James West, executive director of Repairs of the Breach.

This year the organization also held a ceremony in memory of Buffy Godfrey, a longtime supporter who passed away in February. In her memory, friends and family donated more than $12,000 to the organization which is now being used to help a self-sufficient individual who went from being homeless to owning his own business.

That individual was Jermaine who West says arrived at the center looking for a job and housing. Jermaine took a landscaping job two years ago and has since been able to show self-sufficiency.

 “We have some members who have been working really hard to reconnect themselves back to the community,” says West.

Novak acknowledges her challenges and hopes others can look at stories like her with a different light.

“Stop judging people because all people are the same no matter if they’re homeless or not,” says Novak.