J.C. Lewis Shares Cold Weather Resources

It is going to be cold this weekend. Dozens of agencies are coming together to provide safe, warm places for the unsheltered in our community. If you do not have a warm place to stay this weekend, please review the information below or call CSAH at 912-790-3400. We will be answering calls and working all weekend.

The Warming Center at the Tompkins Community Center (2333 Ogeechee Rd.) will be open Friday – Sunday from 7pm to 7am if temperatures/wind chills are predicted to reach 20 degrees or below. The Center will have cots, sleeping bags, water, and blankets.

Union Mission will provide 2 hot meals at the Fahm Street Day Center on Friday, Saturday, and Monday.

St Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church (3101 Waters Ave.) will be open from Friday at 9pm – Monday at 9am. Sleeping bags, water, and blankets will be available.

St. George’s Episcopal Church (15 Willow Rd.) will be open Friday at 5:00pm – Monday at 7am. Sleeping bags, water, and blankets will be available.

CSAH will offer rides throughout Chatham County to help people get to and from warming centers and shelters. Rides will be available Friday (until 11pm), Saturday (7-9am; 5-11pm), and Sunday (7-9am, 5-11pm).

Pets will be permitted at the Warming Center but must be under the control of their owner and remain in the designated pet area.

Union Mission in Savannah is trying to raise awareness and funds for the homeless population they serve.

“On any given night, there’s probably 1,000 people who are homeless in Savannah. A lot of them you might see in the squares and streets, but a lot of them you don’t see,” said Patricia Youngquist, Union Mission’s executive director.

When the temperature drops below 40 degrees, the center is permitted to expand its capacity to allow more people in.

Union Mission is more than just a place to sleep, our emergency shelters provide clients the skills and support they need to live independently.  Since 1937, Union Mission has been offering help and hope to those most in need in the greater Savannah area. Through the support of generous donors and volunteers, Union Mission is able to provide a 90-day shelter program that goes beyond providing a safe place to sleep and offers clients a real chance to change their lives for good. Union Mission emergency shelters offer case management and access to an array of supportive services that work to address clients’ medical, mental health, and employment needs in order to help them permanently end their homelessness.

Since its founding in 1937, Union Mission has grown from a small soup kitchen to a multi-facility organization serving the homeless population of the greater Savannah area. Today, Union Mission provides emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, behavioral health services, support for people living with HIV/AIDS,  and employment and educational services. Through our programs, individuals and families acquire the tools they need to lift themselves out of homelessness and into a brighter future.

Homelessness has various causes — job loss, eviction, family tragedy, addiction, domestic violence, a major health condition, and more. Union Mission strives to empower and coach people towards excellence. Through our programs, we seek to create an environment where individuals can thrive and lives can be rebuilt.  Our goal is to encourage the growth of the individual and by doing so, permanently eliminate their homelessness.