CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dozens of volunteers were busy training Monday in Charleston at the United Way of Central West Virginia.
The Kanawha Valley Collective and United Way of Central West Virginia hosted the sessions for the warming centers that will open up for Kanawha Valley residents in need this winter.
“We just want to make sure we have a good body of people that are ready,” Margaret O’Neal, President of the United Way of Central West Virginia (UWCWV) said.
“Certainly if we would happen to have a cold spell where we have multiple days of 15 degrees or less, we need to make sure we have a volunteer base that is ready to help out and make sure we have all the opportunity to serve people in needs.”
The Charleston warming center, located at the Salvation Army on Tennessee Avenue, will be open when winter temperatures are predicted to drop to 15 degrees or lower taking into account wind chill.
In 2019 to this point, O’Neal said they have opened warming stations nine times. The busiest night of last winter saw 97 people use the station, with an average of 70 people per night.
O’Neal said its important to help the people affected by homelessness.
“There are stories by the old saying ‘Grace of God Go I,'” she said. “When we hear their stories, we realize this could have been us. These are people’s children, parents. We need to keep them safe and at the same time offer them opportunities.”
Those opportunities include a chance at recovery from drug addiction with Kanawha County’s Quick Response Team on hand. There are also ways of signing up for housing and jobs.
The volunteers will work in three shifts from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. and 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. They will do anything from cleaning, signing people in and distributing blankets, pillows, gloves, and snacks.
“I found out over time that I like volunteering and helping others. So I use my time by volunteering,” Howard Thompson of South Charleston told 580-WCHS on Monday.
When the warming station is open, two paramedics and two police officers work on-site with volunteers. O’Neal said there are costs to having the stations open for a night and that is why they cannot have it open every day during the winter like they’d like to, only during certain temperatures.