ASSISTANCE Warmth for homeless via Cold Weather Emergency Homeless Shelter Program

Last year, the homeless program served 576 people.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Homeless people in the area will have a warm place to stay on cold winter nights thanks to the efforts of the Rescue Mission and Help Hotline Crisis Center.
In its 15th year of operation, the Cold Weather Emergency Homeless Shelter Program is in effect until March 31.
Homeless people can call Help Hotline at (800) 427-3606 or dial 211 to get into the shelter. Help Hotline then calls the Rescue Mission to determine that space is available. Transportation is offered to anyone living outside the immediate area of the Rescue Mission, which includes Mahoning County, Liberty, Hubbard or Girard.
"The program is designed for people living in abandoned buildings, old cars or simply doubling up with other families in substandard conditions," noted Duane Piccirilli, executive director of Help Hotline Crisis Center.
He said that in the last two years there has been a significant rise in the number of beds needed for the homeless shelter program. "The largest increase has been reflected for women and children primarily due to nonpayment of child support," Piccirilli said.
Last winter
Statistics from 2003-04 indicated that 142 women and 139 children stayed at the Rescue Mission through the homeless shelter program.
Piccirilli said that a total of 576 people were served last year, and 1,612 telephone calls were made to Help Hotline for the service.
He said that if the family unit shelters at the Rescue Mission are filled, the chapel will be opened. "No one will be turned away," he stressed.
In addition to creating awareness of the program through media outlets, he said posters and fliers will be placed in public laundries and soup kitchens. Piccirilli said outreach workers regularly go out under the bridges and other areas of the community to find those in need to bring them in from the cold.