{"id":31898,"date":"2025-11-12T10:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/31898\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T10:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:25:10","slug":"shelter-steps-up-to-help-homeless-as-temps-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/31898\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelter steps up to help homeless as temps drop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"https:\/\/img.particlenews.com\/image.php?url=4f2KWb_16Tvcu3j00\"<\/p>\n

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE\/WYOU) \u2014 As the temperatures begin to drop, people are bundling up to brave the cold, but for the homeless population, finding somewhere warm to go is easier said than done.<\/p>\n

28\/22 News Reporter Avery Nape visited a homeless shelter in Scranton on Tuesday to find out how they\u2019re helping people stay warm this time of year.<\/p>\n

Ever since the Keystone Mission closed two of its locations in July, Scranton has been left without a designated code blue shelter, but with temperatures dipping well below freezing the last couple of nights, another shelter is stepping up to fill the gap.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a Code Blue Shelter, but after the Keystone Mission in Scranton closed its doors in July, right now it\u2019s the closest thing the city has.<\/p>\n

Monday night was the first time this season a Code Blue Alert was declared in Lackawanna County, and while the shelter only reached half capacity, as the temperatures continue to drop, the number of available beds likely will too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not be surprised, particularly since today was kind of cold and wet all day, I think people might say, \u2018You know, I think I want to be indoors tonight,’\u201d Diocese of Scranton Catholic Social Services CEO Joe Mahoney told 28\/22 News.<\/p>\n

Veterans Day celebration honors those who serve <\/a><\/p>\n

A Code Blue Alert is issued when temperatures outside are expected to reach 20\u00b0 or below.<\/p>\n

The shelter typically requires people to be breathalyzed before they can enter, but Mahoney says during the Code Blue, they\u2019re a bit more lenient.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it gets down to 20 degrees and they declare a Code Blue event, we definitely worry about our friends, our clients are our friends,\u201d Mahoney continued.<\/p>\n

Saint Anthony\u2019s Haven is equipped to accommodate 20 men and six women every night, but during Code Blue, they will welcome more, even if there are no beds available, to provide a place to sit and get out of the cold. A gesture that could very well mean the difference between life and death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk is freezing to death, or you know, at the very least, frostbite. You know, losing a few toes here and there,\u201d Mahoney added.<\/p>\n

Seven days a week, from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., Saint Anthony\u2019s provides the local homeless population with food, shelter, a few basic amenities, such as laundry and a hot shower, but more than anything else, it provides dignity, something Mahoney says is crucial to a caring community.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to decide what kind of community you want to be a part of. You know, if you\u2019re a community that doesn\u2019t care about the homeless, then that\u2019s on you. But for us, it\u2019s critical,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n

28\/22 News spoke with a handful of people waiting to be let into the shelter earlier Tuesday night, and while none of them were comfortable talking on camera, they say they wouldn\u2019t know where to go this winter if it weren\u2019t for Saint Anthony\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28\/22 News. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE\/WYOU) \u2014 As the temperatures begin to drop, people are bundling up to brave the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2376,182,2375,178,180,179,20188,2374],"class_list":["post-31898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-breaking-news","tag-local-news","tag-newsbreak","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-shelter-steps-up-to-help-homeless-as-temps-drop","tag-wbre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}