CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A community resource center that supplied free clothes, food and home goods to Burns residents has closed its doors.
On Friday, the Shepherds Closet located inside Burns Town Hall shut down for good due to “abuse and misuse,” according to Mayor Joe Nicholson. The closet was the only place in Burns that provided free, donated items to residents in need, Nicholson told Cap City News.
The mayor said people have been vandalizing the community resource space over the past three or four months. Items were also being taken by people who didn’t need them, who then sold them for a profit.
The closet was managed by a counsel of volunteers and a director, Nicholson told Cap City News.
“They decided that it was getting too much for the volunteers that they had, and they decided to close the doors,” Nicholson told Cap City News.
The news is not all doom and gloom, however. Nicholson said he and city councilmembers are exploring options to replace the Shepherds Closet. The mayor said a third party would be brought in to manage any upcoming resource center.
“Just because this closes down doesn’t mean that this service will no longer be offered,” Nicholson said. “It’ll just take us a little bit to transition to something else.”
