READ MORE: As temperatures drop, Springfield shelters fill
Interfaith housed 85 people on Friday morning — 35 individuals in its single women and family shelter, 32 individuals in its shelter for single men and 18 at a nearby hotel. Of those, 25 were children.
Although both shelters are busy, Bradley said they’re equipped to take on more people.
“We don’t want to turn anyone away that’s in need of emergency shelter,” Bradley said.
The shelter hasn’t been this busy since 2014, Bradley said, the year that prompted the center and the city of Springfield to form an emergency plan when demand for shelter is high.
Typically each shelter can house about 35 people, Bradley said. However the center now has an agreement with the city that whenever temperatures reach 10 degrees or below, the shelter can increase its capacity. For the men’s shelter, that means pushing aside the common area tables at night to make way for cots. In the women and family shelter, a large upstairs room has been opened where single women can sleep on cots.
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The center tries to house families in private rooms, Bradley said, so, although there is room for more cots in the overflow space, some families have been housed together at a hotel until more rooms at the shelter become available.
For Yane Upshaw, who works in the front office of the family shelter, the last couple of weeks have been hectic.
She’s busy fielding calls about availability and helping clients get the resources they need, whether it’s a voucher to get warmer clothes, a pass to ride the bus or hygiene products to use during their stay.
“It’s something new every day,” Upshaw said. “But I’m cool with coming here every day knowing I always have something to do.”
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In addition to a place to stay, the center partners with local churches to provide a warm dinner every night at the family shelter. For breakfast and lunch, a first-floor food pantry and kitchen are available for clients to find and cook meals.
Individuals and families also have access to people and resources that can help them find or maintain their jobs, and kids can work with a tutor on weekdays in the center’s computer lab.
“Peoples’ lives don’t stop when they come here,” Bradley said. “People work; their kids go to school.”
Chad Gibson, who has been staying at the men’s shelter for about a month, said he’s grateful to have a place to stay.
“I can’t ask for a better place to stay,” Gibson. “If you need a place to stay, they help you out big time here.”
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The shelter is always in need of more donations, Bradley said, and sometimes for items that people don’t expect. Right now they need more large trash bags. With the shelters operating at overflow, there isn’t much locker space, Bradley said, so people use the bags to store their belongings.
The center also stocks donations of dishes, books and other household items for clients to take with them once they leave the shelter.
Right now, clothing donations — particularly hats, gloves and scarves — and blankets are in high demand. Toiletry items, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and eating utensils are also needed for the shelter’s day-to-day operations.
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