BELLOWS FALLS — The Greater Falls Warming Shelter has reopened its doors just as the bitter cold and the first sprinkling of snow arrives.
The shelter, at 23 Church St. in North Walpole, N.H., just across the river from Bellows Falls, can accommodate 10 guests at a time.
Last year, 40 individuals with unstable housing found relief from the cold at the shelter, which is open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily from now through mid-April 2015.
Through collaboration with Our Place Drop in Center and other local agencies, those few whose situations forced them to stay at the shelter the longest have since found housing and employment. Guests are required to meet with a housing counselor within three days of their arrival at the shelter.
Meanwhile, the GFWS board invites the community to join them in a vigil Thursday, Dec. 18, at 4 p.m. in The Square to mark the beginning of winter and connect with those who face homelessness for whatever reason: unemployment, mental health issues, fire, divorce, addiction, health problems, alcoholism, domestic violence, or family squabbles.
The shelter is staffed by part-time coordinator Deborah Clark and opener John Janiszyn. Clark said she recruits volunteers to staff the shelter each night in two shifts, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. and 1 a.m. to 7 a.m., and she or Janiszyn welcome guests and explain the shelter rules.
Another group of volunteers provides a meal each night.
Guests arrive with all kinds of baggage, literal and figurative, Clark said. She explained that staff and volunteers try to make them feel welcome.
When a recent guest was asked why he was initially suspicious of the shelter and the volunteers, he'd replied, “Because no one has ever been this nice to me.”
“That tells us we are making a difference,” Clark said.
Training for volunteers is ongoing. For more information, write Clark at [email protected].