MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The warming shelter at Hazel’s House of Hope is at capacity of 50 as temperatures fall to near zero. United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties volunteer and shelter coordinator Becky Rodd said they expect the facility to be full through the weekend.
“Our cots are all full and we’ve sent 12 people to hotels in the last 12 hours and we’ve got people still coming in,” Rodd said. “We’ve got plenty of warm coffee and hot chocolate.”
According to meteorologist Fred McMullen with the National Weather Service, temperatures remain very cold through at least Wednesday. In fact, McMullen said we could get close to or beat the record low, high temperature for Christmas Eve day which was 15 degrees.
“We are looking for potentially the coldest Christmas Eve high temperature on record,” McMullen said. “The records go back to 1983, so we’re watching that for Morgantown and Wheeling- highs are only supposed to be around 10-degrees.
The First Presbyterian Church and Morgantown RAMP are making Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds available to place children, families and others who cannot stay in a group setting.
“We have capacity for 50 and we’re currently full,” Rodd said. “We’ve got a grant that allowed us to help pay for hotels for overflow.”
The Salvation Army is making some of their space available between the main lobby and dining room at Hope Café. They will also provide cots, meals and kitchen access for drinks, water and supplies.
“We’ve got lots of peanut butter and jelly, bread and the Salvation Army open feeding people lunch right now,” Rodd said. “We’re ready to take care fo folks.”
Rodd said they need more volunteers, blankets, pillows, hand warmers, gloves, coats and hats. The volunteers will be working with adults only, so no background check is required and above all must be flexible.
“They need to be compassionate, ready to work and ready to do whatever it takes,” Rodd said. “Taking out the trash, listening to somebody, we need people to give rides, help run errands, help with cleaning and staffing the shelter.”
The shelter will be open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The Mountain Line Transit Authority is also offering free rides to the shelter on the hour seven days a week through 8 p.m.
The Friendship House in downtown Morgantown is open daily as a warming shelter from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.