MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The Middletown Warming Station opened for its 18th year in a row on Nov. 1, serving the homeless and needy for the rest of the winter season.
The station was renamed in the spring to the Marilyn Pierce GMIC (Greater Middletown Interfaith Council) Warming Station after the late Marilyn Pierce, who greatly contributed to running the station over the past decade.
The station is opening three weeks earlier and closing two weeks later this year. The station opens for the cold months so the homeless do not have to sleep in shelters, police stations, or county-provided hotels.
Station co-chair Michele Duggan told The Epoch Times, “We looked at the data [for] Code Blue nights and found that over the past three years, 80 percent of nights in November are Code Blue nights.”
A Code Blue is when the temperature falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. During these nights, outreach is given to the homeless to allow them to find shelter indoors.
The station provides a safe and warm environment for up to 30 adults to sleep seven nights a week. It opens at 9 p.m. every night and closes at 9 a.m. Guests are given a free hot dinner and breakfast. The warming station is open to anyone who needs a place to stay for any reason.
Duggan said that during the last season, during which it operated for 138 nights, the station had 4,731 overnight stays and served 144 different people. She also said the station had an average occupancy of 99.3 percent.
There are often too many people at the station. Extra people who won’t have a bed are given a meal, and then those who don’t fit are assisted by government services. They often end up staying in police stations or hotel rooms paid for by the government.
The homeless often avoid sleeping at homeless shelters. Their reasons vary, but they include feeling unsafe, fearing disease, and wanting to be away from people with substance abuse issues to remain sober.
The other two warming stations in Orange County are located at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Port Jervis and Newburgh Ministry, or Hope Safe Haven, in Newburgh. There is also an adult and family shelter and a Friend’s House Youth Shelter by Honor in Middletown.
At the station, guests are given cots and a bin with a blanket, sheet, pillow, and pillowcase to use. Food is donated by local charities or religious organizations. Volunteers bring more than 30 hot meals every night.
The station collects and distributes many clothing items and necessities, including shirts, socks, insulated underwear, gloves, and toiletries.
The Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel recently donated 500 pairs of socks during October, as well as hot chocolate, cans of coffee, and creamer packets, all of which the station is putting to use now.
“Our number one need for the warming station is volunteers. Then comes socks,” Duggan said.
The station has a few full-time employees but mostly relies on volunteers from the community. The volunteers are mainly from local houses of worship and the local Kiwanis, Rotary, and Lions clubs. Students from Touro College in Middletown and seniors also make up a large number of volunteers.
The station had 120 different volunteers participate last year. The volunteer slots for this season are 53 percent filled, and the station is always looking for more people to take a shift. Volunteers must be trained by staff at the station before being able to participate.
“People who come, they find, they meet other people. They make friends,” Duggan said. “They enjoy volunteering because they know they’re doing something good. Most of our volunteers probably get more out of it for themselves. That they do what they give at the end of the day. And that’s what brings people back.”
The station was renamed after Pierce, who was once a co-chair, in the spring, when she stepped away from operations. Pierce had been a part of the station for more than a decade. She and her husband, Doug Pierce, spent a year during the COVID-19 pandemic looking for a place to have the station, which couldn’t stay in the basement of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
“She was a constant advocate for making sure that it’s run correctly, getting volunteers, making sure the volunteers are trained and comfortable. She did it all,” Duggan said.
School social worker Luani Forde has been working at the warming station for five years now. She works overnight on Saturdays, checking on the guests, helping sign them in, and managing the food.
“I originally started as a substance abuse counselor and so I changed settings during the pandemic. So this is like my way of staying connected to the population,” Forde told The Epoch Times.
“It gives me fulfillment. And as a person that’s a Christian, I think as a Christian, it’s part of me giving back to my community,” she said.
Station Manager Matthew Airall told The Epoch Times he came to Middletown to retire, but helping others grew on him.
“When you help someone in finding not only a bed here, but eventually finding a home, an apartment, or getting them in rehab, you get that feeling, you know, that success story,” he said. “It might be one out of 20 or 50, but you feel good that you helped someone to get back on track in life.”
