Year-round cold weather shelter developing

MILTON — For over a decade, Ferris Hill Baptist Church’s Cold Weather Shelter at 6848 Chaffin St. has provided a roof, a cot and food for those in need when temperatures dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit in Santa Rosa County.

However, with a colder winter than usual and greater recognition, the shelter has had to care for significantly more guests.

"We’ve had some seasons in the past where we’d have cold nights and one to two guests would show up," shelter coordinator Tom Turman said. "Even when temperatures were in the 20s, at times, nobody would show up."

Not only has the shelter remained open a record number of days, over 30 days, according to Turman, but more people are hearing about the church’s program.

"This year, consistently at any time we’re open, at minimum four to six guests (arrive) on nights when sometimes we had zero or one," Turman said.

A large family that needed shelter partly boosted those numbers, he said.

"They were with us a while," he said. "We had a high number of 18 [guests] several nights. If you look at the whole season, the number of guests, we’ve been around 25 people."

Wednesday night they had 12 people seeking shelter.

Regardless of how guest numbers have risen, it takes 50 volunteers to operate the Shelter, according to Turman, but extra effort was necessary for mealtime.

"We told our meal crews to normally plan for six guests so (we needed) more food," Turman said. "These people do it out of their own pocket. If that was a burden … the church could supplement to get food ready. That didn’t catch us off guard, but we had to ramp it up a little bit."

The food preparation volunteers don’t serve just tomato soup and sandwiches, Turman said.

"I’ve seen a really good spaghetti dinner with salad and garlic bread, stew with side items. One of our church members … said, ‘I want to feed them with what they’d expect to be fed at mama’s house.’"

The shelter also helps beyond providing safety from the cold. Volunteers can provide transportation to get people to family or friends.

"For this season, we have spent $300 to $400 for Greyhound bus tickets," Turman said. "Three to four people we have been able to put on a bus. Recently, we have had two different folks on two different occasions go to Orlando. Another one I know we sent, a father and son, to Michigan at the end of the last cold season. We try to make sure that they are confident they’ve got somebody to receive them, whether friends or family, and will have shelter and a way to get a healthy, fresh start."

People who need permanent housing can get direction from the shelter on which agencies can help with housing.

"We recently had a family of eight that had children," Turman said. "They were already seeking housing so they were doing their part. We worked with the school system and Family Promise and those two agencies worked out long-term housing."

Organizers hope the shelter can expand so they can provide assistance regardless of the weather, Turman said.

"We also are getting close to our goal of being able to do construction to have showers and laundry facilities year-round for folks in need," he said. "That will be inside the existing footprint of the facility."

The county appreciates what the shelter provides.

"With the extreme cold temperatures we’ve experienced this winter, Ferris Hill Baptist Church’s Cold Weather Shelter has provided a much-needed service to the less fortunate residents of Santa Rosa County," Emergency Management Director Brad Baker said. "The shelter volunteers have operated tirelessly to serve those who don’t have a warm place to sleep at night.

"We value our partnership with the shelter and encourage our citizens to support their endeavors."