LVMAC Tidbit — Allentown Winter Warming Center to Open December 1

From the Lehigh Conference of Churches

On Tuesday, December 1, a Warming Center will open in Allentown to provide overnight emergency shelter to those without homes. The Lehigh Conference of Churches will manage operations at the City of Allentown’s Fountain Pool Building, located at the corner of S. 10th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The Warming Center’s opening date coincides with the start of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering in a coordinated regional effort to meet the increased need for warm, safe refuge for homeless individuals seen in previous winters. 

The Warming Center will operate daily from 5 pm to 7:30 am, December 1 through an expected closing date of April 30. The building has bathroom and shower facilities and bunk beds for up to 38 people. Two trained monitors will be on duty each night.

Allentown churches will support the Warming Center by serving breakfast at their locations: St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (38 S. 8th Street) will provide a morning meal on Sundays; Union Baptist Church (302 N. 6th Street), on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays; and Zion’s United Church of Christ (620 Hamilton Street), on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The Lehigh Conference of Churches will continue to provide case management services. At the conclusion of the 2014-15 winter season, 44 of the total 304 individuals who accessed the shelter had been housed or had a housing plan in place, 20 utilized the Daybreak drop-in center, and 15 received assistance with identification. More than half of the individuals (63%) stayed 10 days or fewer. Warming Center staff will once again collect data to provide insight into the circumstances of the homeless population in Allentown.

To help support the Warming Center, consider making a contribution to the Lehigh Conference of Churches or donating new socks, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, or disinfecting wipes. To donate or for more information, call 610-439-8653 or email info@lehighchurches.org.

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As of 24 November 2015