LEWISTON — New Beginnings in Lewiston is seeking approval to operate a 12-bed youth shelter for the winter months, but needs emergency approval from the City Council.

The City Council will be asked Tuesday to approve an emergency ordinance that would allow New Beginnings to operate the shelter immediately, rather than have to wait until updated ordinance language regarding the licensing of homeless shelters is slated to go into effect 30 days later.

The shelter would operate out of 436 Main St. and would serve youth between the age of 18-24 through April 30.

Chris Bicknell, executive director for New Beginnings, a nonprofit that operates a 24-hour youth shelter called Marian’s Place, as well as several other services for homeless youth, said the beds are desperately needed for that age group. Marian’s Place serves 10- to 20-year-olds.

Bicknell, who feels the city’s current licensing language is burdensome, said he’s served on the city’s shelter committee for the past year hoping to “correct the flaws” in the language that have made it difficult for service providers to keep people off the street. If approved Tuesday, the 436 Main St. location would be defined as a shelter, allowing guests to sleep, compared to warming centers, which operate overnight but do not allow beds.

The property is already owned by the organization and used for transitional housing and other needs, but would be reconfigured. Bicknell said if approved they hope to be operating the shelter by Nov. 20 or 21.

The council will also host a public hearing on the shelter application during Tuesday’s meeting.

Bicknell said they had hoped the city’s ordinance changes would have been complete by now, and the winter shelter would not have needed the emergency designation. New Beginnings hosted a warming center for youth last winter, but Bicknell said it quickly became clear that the warming center model, which technically does not allow sleeping, was not right for their clientele.

“New Beginnings believes it is unethical to keep residents awake all night after being on the streets all day,” he said.

Based on the organization’s outreach in the community, Bicknell said they know there are large numbers of youth who are either unstably housed or unhoused and camping out or on someone’s couch. New Beginnings serves an average of between 500-700 youth annually, he said.

Another piece of the immediate need for approval is funding from MaineHousing requires a license, and Bicknell said they have staff “waiting in the wings.” People have been offered jobs, but can’t be officially hired until approval.

According to a proposed council resolution declaring an emergency regarding homeless youth, without a license by Nov. 20, New Beginnings “will not be able to qualify for funding this year and will be unable to operate during the winter months.”

A council memo states that the city attorney has recommended councilors declare an emergency “due to lack of shelter options for homeless youth, which would allow the council to adopt the shelter ordinance amendments as an emergency ordinance, which would go into effect immediately.”

When reached Friday, Mayor Carl Sheline said, “I appreciate New Beginning’s commitment to our youth and their willingness to step up to provide even more services as we approach the colder winter months.”

On Friday night, the city’s much larger winter warming center at the former Schemengees Bar & Grille was set to open at 8 p.m., providing overnight shelter for up to 100 guests. The operation is licensed as a warming center, which means beds are not provided, but each guest has access to floor mats and blankets.