Beds for Freezing Nights
When it gets cold, what are those without a home or decent heat to do?
A temporary warm place has been established at the South Lane Wheels, 1450 Birch Avenue (next to Community Sharing) from 7 pm to 7 am -- on those nights when the temperature dips below 28 degrees. Volunteers are needed to do any or all of the following: check guests in, spend the night, prepare light snacks, and clean up.
Training will be held on Saturday, December 12, from 1-4 pm, at South Lane Wheels. To register, please call 232-0934.
Current Needs: If you would like to donate items, some good ideas are sleeping bags, warm socks, gloves and hats, food such as ramen noodles or other instant soups, granola bars, cocoa, tea, instant oatmeal, and so on. You can dontate through Community Sharing, marking your bag as "BFN."
More About It: The Cottage Grove Coalition
A group has been meeting weekly to organize Cottage Grove volunteers and host locations, modeled after the Eugene Egan Warming Center. This gives the Cottage Grove group an advantage of information on what works and what doesn’t.
Involved in the Cottage Grove coalition for warming shelter are representatives from the City, South Lane Mental Health, Community Sharing, South Lane Wheels, local police and fire, and several local churches and non-profit agencies.
Lora Lee Jensen, Pauline Thorstenson, Cindy Sharp and I have attended some of the meetings. We wanted to see what was being planned and where we fit in this project. So far, two churches have volunteered to be host churches (backup and overflow) for SL Wheels: The Church of the Nazarene and the OLPH Catholic Church. More places are wanted.
Here is an an outline of how this program works.
The centers are hopen from 7 pm to 8 am. Once someone check ins, he or she cannot leave until morning.
Trained staff will rotate at each site with volunteers working under them.
Volunteers would be needed at each host sight to take a shift, and one person in charge at the site:
Egan has nthe following shifts:- 6 pm.– 10:30 pm.(site preparation could begin at 5; lights out at 10)
- 10 pm – 6 am (longest shift but less to do)
- 5:30 am – 9 am (check out, close and clean up)
The host is to provide shelter overnight with non-perishable snacks and hot drinks available.
- Instant soup has been recommended.
- Some food items would be available from Food for Lane County.
Cots or floor mats will be provided through the coalition. FEMA blankets (which are disposable) would be provided free. Disposable airline pillows and pillow cases would be provided through the coalition.
A separate place for storage of guests’ personal belongings is necessary.
A local vet has volunteered to house pets overnight. No smoking or pets are allowed in the centers.
Cleaning supplies would be provided through the coalition.
South Lane Wheels will provide the main Warming Center and transportation to the host site/s. Those people needing shelter could ride free from 6 pm to 7 pm, getting on at any of the 30 regular stops, and being delivered to the host site after the last stop on the regular route (approximately 7 pm).
Volunteer training is offered starting Saturday, December 12, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at South Lane Wheels.
What can First Presbyterian Church of Cottage Grove commit to? We can consider becoming a backup host site, gather donations (supplies or money), and/or or provide a weekly meal like other churches are doing.
