Monroe’s homeless may have to brave the heat for the upcoming summer nights.

The DeSiard Street overnight homeless shelter will have to close its doors because of a lack of funding.

The homeless shelter will have to stop providing its overnight services in less than two weeks.

The shelter is the only one that has provided overnight housing for the homeless and has been providing services for more than 20 years.

It has also been a replacement for many seeking housing after the Salvation Army closed down in August.

“It is the symbol of service for me. We are here to serve people, and what service could be greater than giving a empowered life to a homeless. This should concern the whole city and community, not only the DeSiard Shelter,” Varner said.

DeSiard Street shelter director, Billy Varner, said the shelter usually receives 65 people for the overnight stay.

After the Salvation Army closed its doors, DeSiard Street partnered with the First Baptist Church and the Rays of Sonshine.

Rays of Sonshine houses and serves women recovering from substance and chemical abuse.

The shelter is considered a non-profit organization, so they are funded by the community, the government and private foundations.

However, the shelter hasn’t been able to accept federal or state funds.

“Those funds require a lot of paper work and many homeless people do not have their prior history of living or state identification,” Varner said.

Volunteers of the shelter said they may be lacking donations because people have yet to realize their work.

“Until you’ve been in their shoes or our shoes working here helping these people, you really don’t know,” case manager Ellie Wheaton said.

However, some students were aware and have started their own fundraising initiatives.

Many local organizations have partnered with the shelter to provide an array of services.

The United Way of Northeast Louisiana has been working with the shelter to help find permanent housing for the homeless.

Family Promise of Ouachita also partnered with the shelter to help families get on their feet with life skill classes, day centers, transportation, temporary housing and fellowship.

The Wellspring Outreach and Christopher Youth House helps people receive matching funding for long term housing.

According to the HOME Coalition of Northeast Louisiana, it costs nearly $1.6 million in federal funding to serve the 1,850 homeless in NELA.

“Imagine if every church in this community would just put $10 or a dollar. We need all the help we can get in this community. It’s our job as a community. That’s our job as human beings,” Varner said.

Although the DeSiard Street shelter is shutting down their overnight housing, they will still provide shelter and meals during the day.