On Thursday the pair leave on an information-gathering mission - scoping out other emergency facilities throughout the country to look at the way in which they run.
From there the Swannells will be able to build a business plan of their own, which they hope to have completed within the next two weeks.
"We will be working out all the safety aspects pulling from other models and tweaking them to work for us."
The mammoth task of organising a shelter doesn't stop them from continuing to run a soup truck feeding the homeless and needy every Monday night in Napier's Clive Square.
Mrs Swannell was also doing advocacy work which proved "frustrating" as the delay in finding land meant they could only pass people on to other agencies who were often unable to offer a permanent solution.
"It's definitely very real. I was dealing with two people. One's a 17-year-old who ended up on the street, there were two more over the weekend - one was pregnant.
"The need for it is urgent, we would love to have somewhere to go so we can make this operational.
"There isn't anyone that can help with this. I'm sending people to the street while we are waiting for the shelter."
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the council only had one piece of land to offer them on Kirkwood Rd - but neither the Swannells nor the council felt it was suitable for their cause.
"It's not their preference because it's out in the middle of nowhere. We are happy to help but operationally we want to understand how it works - when we understand, it's easier to help."
In Napier, it was a case of looking but not finding anything - although that was "not for want of trying", Mayor Bill Dalton said.
"It's not something we are putting off, just at this stage we haven't had any luck."
