The Jefferson City Homeless Task Force faces two challenges - one immediate, the other complicated.
An immediate concern is the local Salvation Army shelter reached capacity in October, shelter Director Tyreka Brandon said in a recent Missouri Press Association (MPA) Capitol Report.
And, as Thursday's snowfall reminded us, winter has arrived. "We're at capacity now so, you know, it's already starting to climb a little bit and I think that like the colder mornings and colder nights are starting to impact that as well," Brandon said.
The problem extends statewide.
"Of course people are going to try to seek shelter in the winter," Sarah Parsons, a spokesperson for Missouri's Housing Development Commission, told the MPA. "We conduct our counts - our point-in-time counts, homeless counts - in January and we do find families living in tents and campers but generally our shelters are at max capacity throughout the winter."
At a recent task force meeting, members discussed the immediate concerns and whether homeless people could be sheltered at local churches, non-profit facilities or even members' basements or spare rooms.
The task force also explored long-range issues, including: converting the former Agape House into a shelter, seeking grants for transitional housing; and partnering with Room in the Inn, a faith-based program started in Nashville, Tennessee.
Shelter, however, isn't the only need for the homeless - a generic and inadequate label.
"Many people have a restricted idea of homeless," Dawn Berhorst said in a September News Tribune story. She is assistant to the superintendent for the Jefferson City Public Schools. "The definition is broader than what many people think.
The homeless are classified as unsheltered and sheltered. Unsheltered denotes a lack of adequate sleeping quarters. Unsheltered homeless sleep in cars, parks, abandoned building, camp grounds, bus or train stations, etc. Sheltered homeless sleep at shelter operations or the homes of family members or friends.
Beyond the need for shelter, officials point out many homeless people are unemployed, suffer mental illness or physical disabilities and abuse drugs or alcohol.
Homelessness is not a problem that exists in a vacuum. Addressing it will require exploring the economic, medical and mental health issues associated with it.
The plight of the homelessness has many facets, which have triggered many responses - from churches, charitable groups, schools, governments, and health care and mental health professionals.
The Homeless Task Force was established to coordinate these efforts. The challenge is enormous, even without the complication of winter weather.