DULUTH — Duluth's only emergency homeless shelter will advance long-held plans to expand thanks to a $2 million earmark, part of a federal spending package that became law last week.

Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), which offered temporary beds to more than 1,000 kids and adults in 2021, hopes to expand one floor and add another to its downtown shelter so it can offer 60 more places to sleep.

With only 80 beds currently, about 70 people are typically left to pass the night in a chair or on the floor, said John Cole, executive director of CHUM.

"We have been bursting at the seams for quite a while now," he said, with a 27% increase in shelter guests in 2022. "This is what it will take to save lives."

The project was sponsored by Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

"We need to make sure that people struggling with homelessness have access to shelter, particularly in areas like Duluth where freezing temperatures and harsh winter storms pose a real threat," Klobuchar said in a statement. "This significant federal funding for Churches United in Ministry will help provide safe, quality shelter and will make a real difference in the community."

Only 155 temporary beds are available across Duluth, with about one-third reserved for domestic violence situations. An expanded CHUM would allow for separation between people looking to avoid substance users or those they have conflicts with, Cole said, because the shelter allows anyone as long as they follow behavior rules.

Cole plans to ask for state aid for the remaining $2.5 million needed to complete the project. Emergency shelter is critical, he said, not only for the immediate needs it provides but also the resources that can lead an unsheltered person down a path of stability and permanent housing.

"It provides a base from which one can begin to resolve crises that cause one to enter into homelessness," Cole said.

CHUM's Lincoln Park neighborhood warming center served more than 500 people last year, a separate number from those using shelter beds. CHUM, supported by more than 40 congregations, is the largest emergency shelter provider north of the Twin Cities.

Other local earmarks include $500,000 for the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth and $4 million for a water project in Aurora, Minn.