Studer Community Institute

Waterfront Rescue Mission braces for cold

November 17, 2014
/ Mollye Barrows
/ community-dashboard

The Waterfront Rescue Mission needs some help keeping the homeless bundled up against the cold. They’re asking for donations including, blankets and jackets. During last week’s cold snap, more than 150 people took shelter at the outreach center’s Pensacola location on Herman Street. Now that temperatures are taking another big dip, the shelter is seeing a steady need for items such as blankets, jackets, fitted sheets and pillowcases. “We’re having to give them away, so we don’t have enough sheets and pillowcases for people who stay at the shelter itself,” said Jessica Howell, a development associate at the Rescue Mission. Howell said while they are expecting more people due to the cold, they don’t believe they’ll run out of room. The shelter has 163 beds on campus, plus plenty of mats. They didn’t even reach maximum capacity during the hard freeze last January, when 190 people took shelter there. The influx won’t just be for the night either. Most will stay nearby if it’s cold the following day, too. Those who work and volunteer at the shelter are glad for the opportunity to reach more people. “They get a shower and a hot meal after they check in,” said Howell. “In the morning they get breakfast and of course, the day center is right next door. A lot of them leave the doors of the mission and go straight next door to the day center.” The Day Resource Center gives homeless men and women a safe place to rest and access to resources. The center provides laundry, storage, and mail services as well as rotating community service providers who help with everything from job placement to veteran’s assistance. There’s also the matter of feeding so many people. Regardless of the weather conditions, the shelter serves more than 300 meals a day. That’s why the Rescue Mission could also use donations of food, especially larger tin cans, besides jackets and bedding. “We never really know how many are going to walk in the door when it turns cold, but we know there a lot of people who need help,” said Howell. If you’d like to help, the shelter is located 380 West Herman Street in Pensacola. You can also contact them at (850) 478-4027 or [email protected].

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Waterfront Rescue Mission braces for cold

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