Myles Newberry, the director of the Twin Cities Homeless Shelter in Sterling, has seen the suggestions on social media from well-meaning residents proposing that empty nursing homes, rehab facilities and even storefronts be opened for temporary housing for homeless residents of the Sauk Valley.

He’s even toured one that had real potential. It was a former rehabilitation facility. Big, roomy, with around 50 rooms, plus an industrial kitchen and industrial laundry.

“Doing the math in my head and looking at the size and number of the rooms, we could have easily put between 100 and 150 people in those rooms,” he said.

The facility also had a separate apartment unit.

Again, Newberry saw the potential.

“We are having a problem with housing in the area, and that could have given the shelter a revenue stream, with people paying rent,” he said.

But along with income, rentals bring their own set of challenges. Newberry knows that more people inside requires more people for staffing.

“We would have a bigger facility, so that means we would need more people to help, more people to run it and be there,” he said.

Along with the industrial kitchen and laundry, the main facility had a sprinkler system and other systems that would require a full-time maintenance person.

“Just looking at the place, I have a three-person staff. Those things are all things that are all going to need maintenance and upkeep,” he said.

Newberry said he sees the possibilities, but those are tempered by reality.

“It was going to need some work. It would have taken the whole community to make that place work,” he said.

Another facility that gets mentioned as a possible housing option is another shuttered nursing home in the area.

“The location is great. It’s kind of off to itself; it’s close to the walkway, close to downtown. It’s not right on top of anybody,” Newberry said.

When he considers the possibilities that could boost the help and hope that he, his staff and board, and volunteers provide for homeless people in the Sterling-Rock Falls area, Newberry, by necessity, tempers the positive with the pragmatic.

“It was going to take at least $100,00 to $150,000 to get the roof repaired. So that’s $150,000 just to get started. That kind of money just doesn’t fall out of the sky,” he said.