Grace United Methodist Church to serve as 7-day meal site for crisis cold weather shelters

Greta Cross, Springfield News-Leader
·4 min read
Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.
Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.

After one month of operating on a "week-by-week" basis, Springfield's crisis cold weather shelters have a centralized location where people can get an evening meal and be transported to an appropriate shelter.

Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m. On nights that crisis cold weather shelters are open, Grace United will also serve as a sign-up and transportation pickup site.

"This is an amazing service and we are so grateful," Lisa Landrigan, Community Partnership of the Ozarks crisis cold weather shelter coordinator, said.

The following organizations will provide and serve meals during the week:

  • National Avenue Christian Church on Monday

  • Gathering Friends for the Homeless on Tuesday

  • Grace United Methodist Church on Wednesday

  • The Venues on Thursday

  • Gathering Friends for the Homeless and The Connecting Grounds on Friday

  • King's Way United Methodist Church on Saturday

Katrin Herd, meal coordinator for the crisis cold weather shelters, said an organization has not been assigned Sunday evenings. For right now, a collection of folks will work together to make and serve these evening meals.

Herd added that Central Christian Church will be supplying one meal a month throughout the winter season and other churches are reaching out to see how they can help.

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Rhonda Galbraith, Grace United's pastor, is a member of the Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness, a coalition of organizations that aim to aid the homeless community. Prior to crisis cold weather shelter season, and during, the alliance put our feelers for a centralized location but kept "hitting dead end after dead end," Galbraith said.

Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.
Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.

After three church council meetings and a good amount of prayer, Grace United decided to step forward, Galbraith said.

The last two years, the Veterans Coming Home Center served as this meal and transportation centralized location. However, due to a lack of appropriate funding and volunteers, the center is unable to provide this space to the community this year.

During the first month of this year's crisis cold weather shelter season, a collection of five churches provided meals on a rotating basis. Grace United provided meals on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Galbraith said between 150 and just over 200 people would gather at the church for these meals.

Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.
Grace United Methodist Church, located at 600 S. Jefferson Ave., will act as a seven-day meal site with different organizations providing and serving meals at 5:30 p.m for crisis cold weather shelters.

When and where are Springfield crisis cold weather shelters open

The crisis cold weather shelter season is Nov. 1 through March 31. Crisis cold weather shelters open when overnight temperatures are 32 degrees or below for four consecutive hours between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Through the end of this year, six crisis cold weather shelters are open, providing up to 230 beds:

  • East Sunshine Church of Christ, capacity of 50 men at 3721 E. Sunshine St.

  • Grace United Methodist Church, capacity of 25 women at 600 S. Jefferson Ave.

  • Asbury United Methodist Church, capacity of 33 individuals with pets at 1500 S. Campbell Ave.

  • Unity of Springfield, capacity of 25 individuals at 2214 E Seminole St.

  • Revive 66 Campground, capacity of 50 individuals with pets at 3839 W. Chestnut Expressway

  • Sacred Heart Catholic Church, capacity of 25 men at 1609 N. Summit Ave.

Starting Jan. 1, Salvation Army Harbor House, located at 636 N. Boonville Ave., will provide an additional 20 beds. Overflow crisis cold weather shelters include Eden Village at 2801 E. Division St. and The Venues at 425 W. Walnut St.

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How to volunteer at a crisis cold weather shelter

The Community Partnership of the Ozarks offers an introductory video for folks who are interested in volunteering at a crisis cold weather shelter, available on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=uv0k0sLr72I.

After watching the video, folks may complete the crisis cold weather shelter volunteer interest form at bit.ly/3DkSqsA. This form is shared by all shelter sites to determine where volunteers would be best matched up with. Prior to one's first volunteer shift, site-specific training is held.

Overnight shelter monitors are needed from about 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. to check guests in and out. Overnight volunteers are always paired with another, so they can sleep for a portion of the night. It's common for overnight shelter monitors to work two shifts a month.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Grace United Methodist Church to provide crisis cold weather meals