Salvation Army Warming Center Closes after Record Setting Season

The 2018/2019 winter set all kinds of records for cold, for snow, for wind. We kind of expect that, and some of us, love it. But the Rochester Salvation Army Warming Center, which closed officially on Monday, set entirely different records.

Usually, the warming center is only open when it is below zero, but according to Rebecca Snapp, Director of Community Engagement at Rochester's Salvation Army,

The Warming Center...was open for 21 straight nights in March in order to allow Olmsted County to perform a study to help determine the best solutions to the growing issue of homelessness in Rochester.

During the winter season of 2017 / 2018, the warming shelter provided for over 80 people. This year, that number grew to 148 individuals. Now, that's not a few people coming back over and over again. That's the unduplicated count. Another number that will floor you, the warming center provided  13,045 nights of shelter.

Rebecca Snap also supplied info about the monumental volunteer effort it is to keep the warming center open.

Every night the warming center was open, volunteers provided 50 hours of their time to make services possible. Multiply that by the 45 nights the Warming Center was open this winter, and you get a whopping 2,250 hours of volunteer time.

Do you need help with a place to live? Click HERE or call the Salvation Army at  507-288-3663.

Listen to James Rabe 6a to 10a on Y-105 FM