Dan Woods:
This is KRCU’s Going Public. I'm Dan Woods, and I'm joined in the studio now by Elizabeth Shelton, the executive director of United Way of Southeast Missouri. Hello again.
Elizabeth Shelton:
Hello, Dan. It's good to be back.
Woods:
Good to talk with you. I want to get an update on the emergency overnight warming center. It's warmed up now, but how did that work? How did it go?
Shelton:
Well, first, we are delighted that we were finally able to find a facility that would be willing to open to the homeless. And you know, it only made sense for the Salvation Army. That’s a population they serve. And we credit the Rainiers with making that decision to move forward with that.
So, the emergency overnight warming center was open seven nights. And in that time, they had 103 stays. We use the term “stay” because it wasn't 103 different people. Some of those people were coming back multiple nights because it was so cold. They served 165 meals, plus drinks and snacks that they provided. I think the best news is that one person got into a behavioral health program and is seeking some of the resources that are available in this community to help people leave homelessness.
Woods:
I know one of the challenges is volunteers, and there was training involved. Were there enough volunteers to make things work?
Shelton:
Yes, there were. United Way worked really hard to spread the word and the need for volunteers. And there had been some miscommunication, I think, originally. Things had not been clearly explained about the training that volunteers needed, and once, I guess, the headquarters clarified that people could work up to three nights as a volunteer without the training, as long as someone who had had the training was there. That helped a lot, and they were able to open every night with the volunteers that they needed to provide meals and do the clean-up and keep the volunteers and people needing to stay there safe every night.
Woods:
Yeah, and it opened when the temperature was below what…32 degrees?
Shelton:
Yes, yes.
Woods:
And, of course, that cold snap we had…the cold was very brutal.
Shelton:
It was and it was, you know, not above 32 for several days during the daytime, also. I think people who were needing the facility may have groused a bit, but I think overall they were grateful to be there. But the hard part was having to leave at 7:00 a.m. in the morning and most places are not open at 7:00 a.m. for people to go to and stay warm. And the Salvation Army needed a couple of hours to clean up and prepare to open for their business day, which didn't start until 9:00 a.m. So, there were some times there that you know, people were literally left out in the cold.
Woods:
I know there was some fundraising involved and the United Way sort of coordinated, and this was several organizations. Really, it takes a community to make things work.
Shelton:
It truly did, and we are really proud of the collaboration that occurred to make this happen. And United Way led the charge only because so many of these partners are in our United Way network—The Salvation Army, Community Partnership, First Call for Help. But we also were very involved with Street Level, and people in this community rallied and wanted to help. We raised over $10,000. We've given Street Level $5,000 of it, and we have a check going out to Community Partnership for some people that they hoteled. These are for hotel rooms that were needed before the Salvation Army was able to open, but also not everyone can go into a group facility. There was a woman with small children, and they needed to be in their own space. So, there are still people who need to be in a hotel during this kind of weather.
Woods:
I know you've worked on this for a while and tried to coordinate everything, so congratulations for getting it all figured out. I guess now if we get another cold snap, at least now there's an infrastructure…there's a plan in place for future needs.
Shelton:
Yes, and I'm certain some of these volunteers will return. You know, United Way connects people with resources. We identify gaps. We bring together the organizations and people that can help find solutions. And that's what we did here, and now we are handing it off to the Salvation Army to carry on this mission.
Woods:
Well, thanks very much for explaining everything to us and giving us an update.
Shelton:
Thanks for the opportunity.
