Trending
First Church at 604 Market St, Williamsport is again opening its Code Blue Shelter. The shelter is designed to provide a warm place to sleep and a meal for those in need. Code Blue Shelter is open nightly from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. from now until March 22.
According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, roughly 700 homeless people die of hypothermia annually in the U.S.
All those needing a warm place to sleep and a meal to eat are welcomed into the shelter. There are no age restrictions (minors included), duration of stay restrictions, nor are there drug or alcohol tests administered.
Susan Best, the co-founder of Code Blue Shelter, added, "We do, however, accept persons who seem to be under the influence, if they comply with our rules and are not unruly or loud."
While there is an undesignated number of beds, "we hope to limit our number of guests to twenty-five, although we will not turn anyone away," said Best. "We feed our guests a full dinner and a pick-up breakfast."
If doing good deeds was a New Year's resolution- Code Blue Shelter is requesting grocery gift cards and volunteer overnight "hosts." "The Hosts welcome visitors, assist in setting up for the night and tearing down in the morning and for making the guests feel at home in a Christian environment," according to the Code Blue Shelter's website.
For more information on Code Blue Shelter, visit uclc.org/event/code-blue-shelter or contact John and Susan Best at jmbest2@gmail.com and sbest2@comcast.net.