Out of the Cold: Centre County is seeking more volunteers as it extends its overnight shelter
Still serving a steady number of guests, Out of the Cold: Centre County is working to ensure the homeless continue to have a safe place to stay by extending its overnight shelter season.
The shelter season for overnight stays was scheduled to end in May, but with guests in need and limited resources due to COVID-19 and the statewide shutdown, the nonprofit has extended the evening shelter through June. But volunteers are needed to keep the program running.
OOTC3 issued a call for help on Facebook, requesting overnight volunteers to operate the shelter, located at the Meetinghouse on South Atherton Street, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day of the week. Due to the pandemic, OOTC3 Program Manager Sarah Potter said the nonprofit shifted from its rotation of churches to the daytime shelter for overnight stays.
On Monday, 13 guests stayed overnight in the shelter and five are being housed in local hotels because they are at risk and vulnerable to the coronavirus. The number of people in need have remained steady, Potter said.
Volunteers can sign up online at www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f45a9ad2ba5fa7-overnight, and OOTC3 is hosting impromptu training sessions for new volunteers.
“There’s a lot of people who have never done this before, so we do encourage them to get some training before people stay overnight, so they know what to expect and what this unique experience is like,” Potter said.
In March, 34 members of the area’s homeless population stayed in hotel rooms through April amid the pandemic with help from the State College Borough and Centre County Government. Though some guests have transitioned to full-time housing amid the pandemic, housing insecurity is still a problem in Centre County, Potter said.
The shelter also provides free meals to guests in need and secure storage.
“We certainly know that there are risks to moving back to a group shelter,” OOTC3 wrote on its website. “If you’re uncomfortable volunteering, we completely understand. We are being really intentional to do everything that we can to keep folks safe: regular cleaning, mask wearing, keeping vulnerable guests in hotels (and) moving any sick guests back to hotels.”
Monetary donations to OOTC3 can be made online, and the shelter is accepting drop-offs at its 318 S. Atherton St. location.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
