A warm response to cold weather

STEUBENVILLE -- Cold weather is prompting a warm response to help those in need during the frigid weather conditions.

"Our motto is every building is open and available to the public to come and get warm, to stay warm," Steele said Wednesday morning when the first day of frigid cold settled in the area with intentions of lingering today and beyond.

"As I told my staff, this is what we're here for, so we'll stay open and be open and available to the community," she said.

Steele had posted on the mission's Facebook page the following message: "Due to the extreme weather these next few days, all Urban Mission facilities will be open and available for anyone who needs assistance."

With that post were the locations and services, including the shelter and warming center, what previously was the City Rescue Mission at 142 N. Sixth St. It is open 24 hours for men, women and children. "No need for reservations, just come. Hot meals served, showers and safe sleeping accommodations," the post noted.

The mission's food warehouse at 311 N. Sixth St. is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with food staples and hot coffee available.

And, the mission church at 301 N. Fifth St. is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and has blankets and warm clothes. It serves a hot meal at noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Steele said the church that houses administrative offices and the Unity Kitchen in the basement is prepared to accommodate overnighters if necessary.

"We can open the church if need be," she said. "We can easily accommodate people here. We have cots and makeshift beds."

Those who need shelter would first be directed to the 142 N. Sixth St. location where the number is (740) 283-1621.

"We are always serving meals at the shelter that anybody can access," Steele said of the 24-hour shelter. "We are close to our official capacity which is around 40 people, but we have extra room that we can accommodate more people, so nobody will be turned away."

"That's the best place to go first because that's where everything is -- food, clothes, blankets, you name it," Steele said. Donations are always appreciated, including blankets, hand warmers, gloves, hats, "anything like that because we just give those out anyway. Folks who come in there and folks who come in here (at the mission), we're always distributing those."

Food also is welcomed, including prepared food or anything that would be shelf stable or canned goods.

"We have people who reach out to us by Facebook or any means possible, and we can connect them with the right resources," Steele said. The mission's main number is (740) 282-8010.

"We'll be serving food as we normally do, which means people can come and have a hot meal," Steele said of the mission's Monday-through-Wednesday meal schedule. On Thursday's, St. Paul's Episcopal Church serves a hot meal, and Holy Family Church downtown does likewise on Fridays.

The Choice Pantry continues to be open as normal and is not impacted by the weather. It is there for emergency assistance as well.

Steele said she had not heard of any churches opening their doors for shelter "but I'm sure they would if we asked them. At this point I don't think there's the need to do that."

The Friendship Room at 419 Logan St., an outreach launched in 2014 and run by Bill and Molly McGovern, had several posts on its Facebook page in response to the weather. "We have been quite busy, every blanket we have been gifted gets snatched up immediately. We have a much need of blankets, old quilts, sleeping bags, anything to keep folks warm. They need not be new, we will happily receive your used blankets if you are upgrading."

Many people live in unheated or underheated housing, according to one post.

"We have given out hundreds of blankets in the past 24 to 48 hours," said Bill McGovern, on Wednesday afternoon. "For some people, because of their home situation, they don't just use it for their beds but cover windows and help make their living environment more liveable."

McGovern said the Friendship Room will be open 24 hours to anyone in need and anyone seeking shelter from the cold until the extreme weather passes.

"Because of the cold temperatures, we are opening our house up around the clock. It's simply too cold. It's not safe to be outdoors," he said, noting the Friendship Room has hot food. Donations of blankets and warm boots for men -- work boots or winter boots -- would be appreciated, according to McGovern, who said the Friendship Room sees more men than women. "The men outnumber the women three to one. While needs for women and children come quickly, "we have a hard time meeting needs for men," McGovern said. Hand and toe warmers, hats and gloves also are needed.

McGovern said he's lived in Steubenville for 32 years and was a former parademic in Pittsburgh "so I have seen the street life, but I just didn't realize how many people in Steubenville were living in third world conditions, into the hundreds. That's the thing I don't think a lot of people realize."

He said people "live in homes without water or a furnace is broken or something else major is wrong." The other category, he said, is homeless who live on the streets or in abandoned buildings or cars.

The number for the Friendship Room is (740) 314-5095

(Kiaski can be contacted at kiaski@heraldstaronline.com.)