LEWISTON — A proposed emergency warming shelter approved by Lewiston’s City Council got a boost Monday when the state allocated $280,000 to help get the project off the ground.

MaineHousing announced it would split $2 million from a housing relief fund to a dozen shelters scattered around the state, including Kaydenz Kitchen in Lewiston.

The nonprofit, which ran a warming center last winter at the Calvary United Methodist Church on Sabattus Street, is eyeing the former Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant on Lincoln Street for a new center that might be ready later this year if funding and other hurdles are overcome.

“As freezing weather bears down on our state in the upcoming months, I am grateful for this MaineHousing funding and our community partners, New Beginnings and Kaydenz Kitchen, who are doing the work of helping our unhoused neighbors,” Mayor Carl Sheline said in a prepared statement.

Kaydenz Kitchen is looking to operate an emergency warming center this winter at the former Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, seen Sept. 4, at 551 Lincoln St. in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

The Lincoln Street building eyed for the shelter has been empty since the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting forced Schemengees to close.

MaineHousing’s director, Dan Brennan, said in a news release the allocation to cities across Maine will provide “critical support for these much-needed overnight warming shelters that are helping keep some of our most vulnerable residents safe and warm during the coldest months of the year.”

He said the groups operating the shelters in Bangor, Biddeford and beyond are taking “innovative approaches to providing services to those experiencing homelessness in winter in Maine. We are grateful to all of them.”

It isn’t yet clear where the rest of the money that Kaydenz Kitchen needs will come from, but officials have said they hope to snag federal cash to keep the project moving forward. The new allocation may help kickstart that effort.

“When awarding these resources, we always look to get the most we can from the investment of precious public dollars,” MaineHousing Senior Director of Homeless Initiatives Lauren Bustard said. “We work to stretch those dollars whenever possible and have made difficult choices at times as we know the demand and the need is great in many places.”

City councilors chose Kaydenz Kitchen, which has the backing of several other area agencies, including Community Concepts and Lewiston Housing, to operate a low-barrier shelter that won’t turn people away if they are under the influence, don’t have identification or don’t want to participate in religious services.

For years, the city has struggled to find a way to keep homeless residents safe during the often bitter-cold of Maine’s winters. It hopes the new project, which aims to help as many as 90 people each night, will make a difference.

“These overnight warming shelters will play a vital role in protecting people from the cold during our harsh winter months,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a prepared statement.

She said she is “grateful for the communities that have responded to this important need” and thanked MaineHousing for distributing the money approved this year by Mills and the Legislature.