GREENFIELD — With near-record-cold temperatures settling over Hancock County, warming centers have opened for people who have trouble escaping the cold.
The Landing Place, 18 W. South St., will be open tonight (Nov. 12) to offer shelter. First Presbyterian Church, 116 W. South St., was open on Monday night.
The warming center is a project of the local Salvation Army and Hancock County Community Organizations Active in Disaster.
“For the folks who don’t have heat, this cold weather is an emergency,” COAD official and Salvation Army member Jim Peters said.
Information on when and where warming centers will be available can be found at the Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, 202 E. Main St. When the soup kitchen is closed on the weekends, information will be posted on the door.
The centers will be open from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. the following morning. Jill Ebbert, executive director of the soup kitchen, recommends people in need of shelter visit the soup kitchen before and after the warming center’s hours.
Peters said he hopes to have the warming centers open as often as possible during the winter, especially when temperatures outside are at 20 degrees or below. (The temperature is expected to be in the teens tonight.) The deciding factor is volunteer availability. At least four volunteers are needed for the shelter to be available on a given night: one man and one woman to serve on each of two shifts.
According to national Red Cross statistics, Peters said, only 10% to 15% of homeless people will actually take advantage of a warming center when it is available. He said he hopes people who need the shelter will feel safe enough to stay overnight.
People who are not homeless but need a warm place to stay for another reason, such as having inadequate heating in their homes, are also welcome to stay.
“If they want to come in to keep them from having an unsafe space heater in their homes, it’s open to anyone,” Peters said.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, approximately 700 Americans die each year due to hypothermia caused by cold weather. Ebbert said that having a warming center available, even if only one or two people take advantage of it, is crucial for a community.
“”I think it’s an extremely important resource. Nobody should be out in the cold when it’s as cold as it gets around here,” Ebbert said. “They don’t need the Taj Mahal to stay in, they just need to get in out of the cold.”
Anyone interested in volunteering at a warming center this winter should contact Peters at 317-372-2304.
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The warming center will be open tonight (Nov. 12) at The Landing Place, 18 W. South St., starting at 7 p.m. To learn about future locations, people can visit the Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, 202 E. Main St., which will post locations when warming centers are available.
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The Salvation Army and Hancock County Community Organizations Active in Disaster, or COAD, are seeking volunteers to staff the warming centers. Those who are interested can call Jim Peters at 317-372-2304.
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