Photo by Andreas Pelekis for The Lafayette

Warming shelters in Easton are open on various days of the week, and have seen up to 40 residents on a given night.

As temperatures plunged into single digits following a powerhouse snowstorm last week, three local warming locations have seen increased demand from unsheltered city residents.

“If we can be that beacon for two nights, that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Rebekah Rutledge, the outreach coordinator at Christ United Methodist Church. “If funding was an option and we were able to be open more, we would. We’ve actually even opened two hours earlier to get them in here, to get them out of the cold.”

Rutledge estimated around 40 to 50 residents seek shelter on a given night at the church, which is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Around 15 volunteers assist at the South Side location each day.

“We started coming here because I want to teach her about giving,” said David Ng, a volunteer at Christ United who goes with his daughter. “I feel like we are blessed. We have an amazing life, so we have to give back.”

Ng said that every day as a volunteer is different.

“We were just basically talking about movie trivia from the ‘60s, just to talk to them and see where they’re at,” he said of a recent day at the shelter. “Just those few moments of interaction that we are able to provide.”

“It’s like a reality check, and it’s not easy,” said Kendell Giiffit, who stayed at the Christ United shelter, and called the space “very welcoming.”

“There’s other churches too, but they don’t do it like this,” he continued, standing in a room with two dozen mattresses set on the ground.

Volunteers serve food at Christ United Methodist Church. (Photo by Andreas Pelekis)

At Christ United, the organization also provides basic first aid supplies, in addition to an estimated 25 pounds of meat during distributed dinners, according to Rutledge.

Social services nonprofit Safe Harbor Easton helps oversee Christ United’s shelter, in addition to hosting unsheltered residents at its own larger, professionally-staffed “warming station.” The third station in Easton is the Greater Shiloh Church in the South Side, open Thursdays and Fridays from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. 

Jeffrey Poch, the executive director of Safe Harbor Easton, said the organization is working to find “the root cause of their homelessness,” overseeing a staff of 16 that provides mental health services, housing services and employment opportunities.

Robert Beldo, the emergency shelter coordinator at Shiloh, equips a volunteer staff to provide food, clothing and showers. The shelter also features a barber who stops by twice a month.

“We’ve had as low as 15-year-olds to as high as 80-year-olds who come to our shelter,” Beldo said. We are equipped to house up to 40 people. Sometimes we go a little more; if we have to, we try not to turn away.”

Beldo also said that the shelter has seen a “spike” in residents this year due to cold conditions. 

As of Thursday morning, according to National Weather Service forecasts, nightly temperatures are not expected to rise above 20 degrees Fahrenheit — well under the freezing threshold — for the next week. For shelter owners, piling donations is a necessary challenge.

“It’s been such a rewarding thing for all of us to be a part of,” said Rutledge, who estimated around $5,000 in donations for the shelter this winter. “We really come from that family, humanistic approach, that nobody is better than anybody.”

“We’re all here to just help,” she added.

Andreas Pelekis ’26 contributed reporting.