Several local groups came together to open a warming center at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo's downtown Monday after concerns that there weren’t enough to meet demand.
Megan Giambrone is the president of United for the Unsheltered of Kalamazoo, one of the many groups behind the center.
She said she and other organizers came up with the idea on Thursday, after seeing frigid temperatures in the forecast.
In addition to providing a space to warm up, the center also provides warm clothes, food and charging stations for those who need them.
The center was only open from 10am to 2pm Monday, with the same hours planned for Tuesday, giving unhoused individuals only a 4-hour window to warm up.
But Giambrone said the center is meant as a proof of concept.
“We just wanted to start somewhere. See how the community came together, how it went off so that we can call again and go, ‘Hey, is this an option?’” Giambrone said.
“This is just kind of a, let the community show up. Let us see how it works and prove that it can be done literally with no time, no budget, just the community's desire to take care of the folks that need it.”
Giambrone added that she hopes local governments can get involved with these last-minute shelters, expanding available locations and enabling more of the unhoused to stay warm.
Silvano Vanegas volunteers with some of the local groups that helped organize the warming center.
Around the time it opened Monday morning, it seemed to be serving about 20 people.
Vanegas said this turnout goes to show that more shelters are needed, especially after a man was found dead in the snow in Kalamazoo last month.
“I think we need more warming shelters and we need more overnight shelters and more beds. I think that the county and the city are finally coordinating and trying to get that off the ground, but it's an urgent need today.”
The Kalamazoo County government has a list of current warming centers, including overnight shelters.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
This story is part of a collaboration with NowKalamazoo exploring Kalamazoo County's housing crisis.
