By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
With the area experiencing the first winter storm of the year and temperatures dropping below 20 degrees most nights, St. Joseph has opened its cold weather shelters.
Community Missions Executive Director Rachael Bittiker says its overnight shelter helps keep the homeless from freezing to death by getting them off the streets at night.
"The overarching goal of that is just to be able to provide that service for individuals to be able to come in, they're able to shower, they're able to get hygiene items, they're able to have a nice warm meal, and really just be able to be safe and be able to sleep and get a good night's rest while being able to stay out of the elements," Bittiker tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Bittiker says staff at the shelter will also work with individuals on how they can get off the streets.
Bittiker says Community Missions hadn't planned to open the shelter until next week, but with the first winter storm of the year coming early, it acted quickly, opening the shelter Monday night.
Bittiker says the shelter served 20 people the first night and expects more in the coming nights as people become aware the shelter is open.
"You know last year we did 1,800 approximately nights of stay, we operated for 77 days, we had an average of close to 24 individuals every night, and we served over 175 individuals," Bittiker explains. "So, we will continue to grow those numbers."
The emergency shelter, located at 700 Olive Street, is open from 6pm to 7am every night to homeless adults. You can also find a list of other St. Joseph warming centers and shelters HERE.