For 53 years, the J. Roy Dunning Children's Shelter in Lawton has opened its doors to children in need. But after facing a operating deficit of over $100,000 in the past fiscal year, the shelter's board has come to the determination that it has no other option than to close it's doors.

The shelter has survived on funding from the United Way, as well as donations, so the board is deciding how to disperse remaining funds prior to the shelter's official close on May 31. United Way's support has been drastically reduced over the past 5 years, from over $125,000 in 2011 to $87,000 in the 2015 fiscal year. Other fund raising ideas have been discussed in the past year, but efforts to increase donations have fallen short of the shelter's goals.

photo courtesy of facebook.com/JRoyDunningChildrensShelter2/photos
photo courtesy of facebook.com/JRoyDunningChildrensShelter2/photos
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Donations and fund raising have been on a steady decline over the past five years. The non profit shelter, which has been kept open 24/7 every day of the year, has estimated operating costs of $22,000 a month to keep the shelter running; fiscal year 2015 closed with over a $122,000 operating deficit. Right now the shelter is housing six children, but the numbers can fluctuate to a maximum of 14. Since 2011, the shelter has taken in over 1100 children who were either brought in by the police or DHS. Any remaining residents at the time of the final closure will be transferred to DHS facilities, which, because of overcrowding, is a major cause of concern among the staff and Board of Directors of the Dunning facility.

At the shelter, children receive three hot meals, snacks, clothing and showers during their stay. Last month the shelter provided services for 26 children for a total of 176 beds. The number of children ages newborn to 6 years increased last year from 3.48 percent in 2014 to 33.00 percent in 2015 due to the increase of larger families of younger children staying for multiple months, according to Sharon Atkinson, shelter supervisor. McComas said the shelter received children from not only Lawton and the surrounding areas, but also from towns all across the state.

photo courtesy of facebook.com/JRoyDunningChildrensShelter2/photos
photo courtesy of facebook.com/JRoyDunningChildrensShelter2/photos
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source: KSWO news

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