GREENFIELD — Ray Miller rotates from place to place: gas stations, grocery stores, diners. Anywhere that’s open 24 hours. He spends time at the soup kitchen.
Miller, who has lived in the Greenfield area for about four years, is homeless. Monday night, he would have been in real danger: the high temperature was only 15 degrees; the low was 2 degrees, with wind chills far colder.
Instead of facing a night trying to keep out of the wind, Miller curled up under blankets at the Landing Place, 18 W. South St., one of the sites designated as warming centers for people like Miller who have nowhere else to go. The Hancock County Community Organizations Active in Disasters coalition, along with the Landing Place, the Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, Hancock Hope House and other organizations dedicated to helping vulnerable residents started working on a protocol for a warming center about a year ago, offering free training for volunteers and seeking sites to host the emergency arrangements for a warm place to sleep.
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“They are nice people,” Miller said about the warming center volunteers. “They make sure you’re in a safe place, and you feel (safe). They talk to you like you’re a human being.”
Jim Peters, co-chair of the county COAD’s board of directors, and others involved in coordinating the emergency shelter are hoping to spread the word that the warming center is in operation. About a dozen nights of shelter have been offered so far. Three to seven people have shown up each night. There’s room for more: The temporary shelter can accommodate about 20 people, Peters said.
“We’re anxious to get as many people indoors as we can with this really brutal weather it looks like we’re going to get,” he said. “In talking to the folks who have come in, we know there are people camped out with tents or whatever they’ve got, or people staying in cars that don’t run. There are 25 to 40 people like that any given night in Hancock County.”
When the temperature or wind chill falls below 20 degrees, or when it looks to be a particularly snowy or icy evening, the warming center is activated, with a site being set up either at the Landing Place; at First Presbyterian Church, 116 W. South St.; or at Curry’s Chapel United Methodist Church, 3488 N. County Road 375E, Peters said.
COAD notifies the soup kitchen and Hope House, as well as Hancock Regional Hospital and the 911 dispatch center, so they can direct anyone needing shelter to the site. Peters places a sign on the door of the soup kitchen, 202 E. Main St., letting clients know where shelter can be found.
The collective has about 35 volunteers to call upon, who work in two-person shifts over a 12-hour span, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Those who stay at the temporary shelter are provided with a cot, blankets and snacks, as well as some games to pass the time.
Jill Ebbert, executive director of the soup kitchen, hopes more people will begin using the warming center.
“It’s an answer to many, many prayers,” she said. “We are so grateful to the people who will open up and let our folks come in.”
She said she’s also grateful to the Greenfield Police Department and Chief Jeff Rasche, who have committed to providing transportation for volunteers who are concerned about driving in treacherous conditions.
Ebbert encouraged anyone who needs the service to use it.
“I don’t want us to wake up someday and find someone frozen,” she said.
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The Hancock County COAD is seeking supplies for its warming center, which is offered on nights with a temperature or wind chill lower than 20 degrees.
For those who want to donate supplies directly, needs include:
– Handwarmers
– Socks
– Gloves
– Insulated underwear
Those who wish to donate may call or email Jim Peters, board of directors co-chair, at [email protected] or (317) 372-2304.
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How to find out if the warming center is activated:
1. A sign will be placed on the door of the Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, 202 E. Main St., stating whether the warming center will be offered. If a warming center will be open that night, the sign will state its location.
2. Those wishing to find out if a warming center will be open may call the soup kitchen, (317) 462-9900, at any time, said executive director Jill Ebbert.
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