GREENFIELD — As temperatures drop and chilly winds blow this winter, those who need a warm space to shake off the cold can find refuge at The Salvation Army at 72 Chapman St.
Offered through a joint effort between Mayor Ginny Desorgher’s office, volunteers, and police and fire personnel, the Overnight Warming Center will open when temperatures drop below 15 degrees Fahrenheit or during instances in which wind chills necessitate opening.
“If a wind chill advisory comes into effect … for at least three hours, [the center will open],” Fire Chief Robert Strahan noted. “We’re there for just the overall operations of the shelter, making sure that needs are being accommodated and to generally man the shelter for any needs that may arise.”
The Healey-Driscoll administration announced last week that the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities will provide $12.1 million in supplemental grant funding to expand shelter and warming center capacity across Massachusetts this winter. Desorgher mentioned that both Greenfield and Athol received grant funding from this round of state allocations.
Desorgher, who volunteered at the Overnight Warming Center on numerous nights last year, explained that once it’s declared that the center will be open, organizers “drop whatever they’re doing” to ensure there is a substantial volunteer force to operate it.
“We’ve already had a pre-meeting with volunteers, so we have a list of volunteers,” Desorgher said. “[There were] 15 people who came to the meeting, and we certainly have a lot more volunteers that lined up. … We welcome more volunteers.”
Last year, the Overnight Warming Center opened in December. The mayor explained that this year, Sarah Ahern will lead the volunteer group.
“I anticipate probably volunteering a couple of nights this year,” Desorgher said. “I volunteered with some of the folks last year, and we did four hours at a time. We just mostly talked with the folks over there, sometimes played a card game with them. [We] made sure that they had blankets and that there was hot coffee there.”
Desorgher added that the city has preliminary plans to use EOHLC grant funds to purchase and install storage lockers at The Salvation Army site next spring for use by the homeless population.
“That’s a really important thing for people that carry their lives on their backs,” Desorgher remarked.
Community Development Administrator Anna Oltman, speaking about this funding at a July public hearing, said the idea draws inspiration from a similar program in Northampton, in which the city purchased storage lockers and a social services agency was contracted through a memorandum of understanding to administer them.