With extremely cold temperatures expected to persist through February, multiple local agencies have partnered to open a warming shelter at the MLK Center for those in need of a safe place to spend the night.

Starting Sunday, the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition in partnership with the city will open an overnight warming shelter at the Columbus Housing Authority’s MLK Center at 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The shelter will open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. for those in need of a place to escape the cold on nights in February when temperatures drop below 36 degrees, coalition Director Susan Garton told The Dispatch.

The coalition is seeking assistance from residents, churches and other organizations to provide donations of food, extra blankets and clothes.

“The main goal is to make sure they are safe and they are protected, and these shelters really provide a safe landing spot,” Garton said. “We want to make sure that no one perishes in homelessness. We want to make sure that there’s no indifference to life.”

Garton said from Thursday to Tuesday, the coalition helped about 46 homeless people in Columbus find shelter during the extreme winter weather. She said they were either placed in hotel rooms in Columbus or taken to the Community Safe Room in Starkville when it opened over the weekend.

Garton expects less than 25 people to show up while the shelter is open because there is typically a lower turnout when the coalition opens a shelter instead of coordinating hotel stays.

Mayor Stephen Jones, speaking with The Dispatch after Wednesday’s city council work session, noted some challenges from the weekend in sending some of those unhoused individuals to Starkville.

“Most of them don’t want to go to Starkville,” Jones said. “Some of them even said if they leave their stuff it might get stolen.”

Jones said he hopes the shelter in Columbus will be a more accessible and comfortable space for those in need of assistance.

Garton said during times of extreme weather, it’s important to mobilize and provide a space for the city’s most vulnerable to remain safe, which is why the shelter at the MLK Center is so important.

“This is not just (for those who are) homeless. It is a warming shelter for everyone (in need),” Garton said. “… I believe that we all care for each other, and sometimes it takes a community to open up something like this.”

Opening doors for the community

The shelter will serve dinner and breakfast daily, which will be provided by local churches and organizations, Garton said.

Leonardo Dismukes, director for the community outreach office, said he has been reaching out to local restaurants and churches and has already received confirmation from 10 churches who have committed to provide meals during days the shelter is open.

Columbus Fire and Rescue will also provide the shelter with portable showers every two to three days, Jones said.

Dismukes hopes to get commitments from 18 more to ensure the shelter is covered should it need to be open the entire month.
“We’re going to be looking for anyone that wants to support our effort to feed (those at the shelter),” Dismukes said.

Garton said she currently has about six volunteers with the coalition ready to assist when the shelter opens, but she is seeking additional volunteers to help make the center a more inviting place for those that stop in.

Garton said the shelter is also accepting donations from locals for canned or non-perishable food items, blankets and clothes to give to those who stay at the shelter to take with them when the shelter closes.

“We need (donations), so that we can send a bag with them when they leave for the day, like a snack bag,” Garton said. “… We need napkins, bowls, cups, silverware, plates, all the disposable (cutleries).”

Robert Greathree, director of the Columbus Housing Authority, said workers from his office and the coalition will also provide those staying at the shelter with resources to help with self sufficiency if they ask for it during their stay.

“We give them a service to provide self sufficiency, financial literacy, food, the proper way to take care of yourself and just different things,” Greathree said. “We don’t just look at it from a housing standpoint. We look at it from a self-sufficient standpoint as well.”

Through this coordination effort, Dismukes hopes to build more of a rapport with local organizations to hopefully ease coordination efforts going forward should a shelter need to open again during extreme weather conditions.

“Our goal is to make sure that we have all the things that we need set in place for emergency situations,” Dismukes said. “… Every year you’re going to have cold weather. Every year you’re going to have homeless people and (those who are) less fortunate. So our goal is to make sure that we create … a situation where we don’t have to ask a lot of questions, basically we’ll just send the word out, and people will respond.”

Jones agreed that moving forward a more consistent approach to dealing with extreme weather conditions will be something the city should look to address.

“When the (extreme) cold or hot weather comes, we need to have something in place that’s already lined up that all we need to do is activate,” Jones said.

Donations can be taken to the community outreach office at 1607 Main St. or to the shelter itself at 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Garton said.

Those wanting to volunteer their time with the shelter while it is open can contact Garton at (662) 549-2643.

Any church or local restaurant that wants to volunteer to prepare a breakfast or dinner for those at the shelter can contact Dismukes at (662) 251-6724.