There’s a four hour period—from 4:00 to around 8:00 in the evening—when homeless people in Springfield have a hard time finding shelter from the extreme cold. A local church has decided to open its doors during that time.
Many unsheltered homeless people spend their days at the Veterans Coming Home facility downtown. But that closes at 4:00 PM, and the emergency cold weather shelters don’t open until much later.
That’s why Christie Love, pastor at the Connecting Grounds church on Commercial Street, decided to open the church doors.
“Those four hours in there are very cold and a lot of our friends did not have a consistent safe place that they could be to stay warm. So we made the decision to join that team in our community here,” Love said.
Love also helps the homeless navigate transportation to and from their warm spots. She said the church’s support comes from people in the community and other churches.
And the emergency cold weather shelters are only open on nights when the National Weather Service predicts the temperature will be at or below 32 degrees. According to the Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness, part of the Community Partnership of the Ozarks, information on shelter openings is available daily by calling 417-379-7332.
You can find more information about overnight cold weather shelters by clicking here.