Warming Shelter
A welcome sign at one of the Northern Illinois churches offering shelter during the polar freeze Jan. 29, 2019.
Several churches across the Northern Illinois Conference opened their doors to the homeless and others seeking shelter from the extreme cold during the area's record-breaking temperatures, reported the NIC weekly eNews.
Some churches offer a weekly place for PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), which provides hospitality, food and overnight emergency shelter to the homeless. As temperatures dipped to 20 below, Kingswood UMC in Buffalo Grove opened their doors early Tuesday evening and kept their doors open a little later Wednesday morning to allow extra time for the PADS guests to get transportation to another safe warming center. First UMC Morris remained open all day Wednesday as a warming center for Grundy County PADS guests in their community.
Holy Covenant in Chicago will remain open through 6pm Thursday night after serving as a warming center both Tuesday and Wednesday. First UMC in Ottawa opened up its building and offered a warm meal Wednesday after pastor Cheri Stewart found out there was only one warming center open in the community.
"It's a blessing to live in a community where everybody is looking out for everybody," Stewart told the local newspaper. Click to read more. If you know of someone who needs shelter, click here for a list of warming centers around the state by county. Read the full story here.