The Warming Room: Keeping the homeless out of the cold
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POCATELLO – A warm, safe place to get off their feet and rest for a little while — that’s what the Warming Room at the First Baptist Church in Pocatello is offering to anyone left out in the cold this winter.
Overnight temperatures in Pocatello on Thursday plummeted to minus 9 degrees and Worship Pastor Karl Pettit said as word about the Warming Room spreads, more people are showing up.
Cory Christensen has been homeless for about three months and he’s a regular at the Warming Room located at 408 North Arthur Avenue in Pocatello.
The loss of his job as a fork lift operator and some legal problems landed him out on the street. Christensen said he has no family in the area and he tried to get into the local homeless shelter, but it was full. He heard about the Warming Room at the First Baptist Church and called the facility a lifesaver.
“This place is very important to me, if it wasn’t here, I’d be out in the cold,” Christensen said.
He’s looking for work, but trying not to freeze to death has been a full-time job this winter.
“You can’t get a job without an address, a phone or a car,” Christensen said. “And you can’t get any of those things without a job.”
Christensen said before winter set in, he slept in parked cars and walked the streets continuously.
Pettit said the church opens the Warming Room when the temperature drop to 10 degrees and the site is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. No identification is required and there is no age restriction, but individuals who show up under the influence of alcohol or drugs are excluded to protect other guests and volunteers.
“But we try to find someplace for those people to go, we don’t leave anyone out in the cold,” Pettit said. “Even if it’s a night in jail, it keeps them from freezing to death.”
Pocatello police Lt. Ian Nelson said in some cases, an intoxicated person could be placed in “alcohol protective custody” and housed at the jail until they’re sober. Nelson said “alcohol protective custody” is not a criminal charge.
The Pocatello Police Department notified all patrol officers that the Warming Room is now open and they are on the lookout for individuals left out in the sub-zero temperatures.
The Warming Room is staffed by about 20 volunteers each working four hour shifts. Hot drinks and snacks are available at the site – Thursday the staff served up homemade banana bread – users can watch a movie, put up their feet and just relax for a few hours.
“That’s the problem, for the homeless, they can’t ever get off their feet and get any rest,” Pettit said.
Pettit said the Warming Room was created three years ago when members of the church discovered that a homeless man was sleeping in the church courtyard.
Roger Stockwell, a member of the First Baptist Church, came up with the idea for the Warming Room and the church took the idea to city officials.
While the Warming Room is not a shelter, it provides a 12-hour respite for the homeless.
“We invite them to come and relax,” Pettit said.
Eric Rivera is originally from California, but he was raised in Kentucky, he sipped hot coffee and waited for the movie start at the Warming Room Thursday.
After spending six months in jail, Rivera said he decided that the Blue Grass state was not a good fit for him and he headed west, hitchhiking to Billings, Montana, then to Wyoming and eventually ending up in Pocatello.
Rivera said he receives a disability payment, but it doesn’t always stretch to the end of the month.
“Places like this save lives in this kind of weather,” Rivera said.
Office Administrator Katie Monroe said First Baptist Church reached out to local law enforcement and non-profit agencies to get the word out about the Warming Room and she said, local businesses have donated to the temporary shelter this year as well.
Pocatello Domino’s provided pizza for the Warming Room and other businesses have donated McDonald’s gift cards and personal care items.
On average, the Warming Room has about five visitors each night and Monroe said, that’s five people who didn’t freeze to death on the streets this winter.
Monroe said donations of blankets, food and cash are always needed to keep the Warming Room in operation.
To donate to the program, go to http://www.fbcpoky.com or call (208) 232-6305.
“It’s really opened up my eyes since I came to work here,” Monroe said. “There are people here in Pocatello with no place to go to get out of the cold.”