City Of Detroit Offers 3 Warming Centers For Winter, 2015
The following information was provided by the city of Detroit on Jan. 5, 2015:
The City of Detroit, in conjunction with the local nonprofit homeless service providers, has opened three warming centers to offer Detroit residents a break from the winter chill from now through March 31, 2015. The City of Detroit is contracting with Cass Community Social Services, Operation Get Down and Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries to provide temporary relief to persons who are homeless and/or do not utilize existing homeless shelters available within city limits.
Cass Community Social Services, 3901 Cass Avenue between Woodward and Second Avenue, has 50 beds and provides services for families only (parents and children). The center is open from 4 p.m. – 8 a.m. Contact Rev. Faith Fowler at (313) 883-2277 or via email at ffowler@casscommunity.org.
Operation Get Down has 200 beds for women, men and children. It is located at 6821 Medbury Street, between 1-94 Service Drive and E. Grand Boulevard. The facility is open from 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. For information, contact Linda Jefferson at (313) 925-4138 or via email at sbomarparker@operationgetdown.org.
The Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries has 100 beds for men only. The center, located at 3535 Third Avenue near downtown Detroit, is open from 7 p.m. – 7 a.m. At Detroit Rescue Mission, the contact is Daniel Townsend at (313) 993-6703 or via e-mail at dtownsend@drmm.org.
All the centers will operate during inclement weather, including holidays.
The three facilities combined are expected to accommodate between 350-400 persons at a time. If the forecast calls for temperatures of 10 degrees or lower, services will be extended to include daytime hours. All the centers will extend their hours until noon or operate on an as-needed basis on weekdays when day time temperature remain 35 degrees or below.
Clients may be picked up by vans from organizations that offer outreach services such and/or referred by other homeless agencies. Upon entering the warming center, clients are expected to complete the intake process for admission.
All individuals are supervised at all times to ensure the safety of all concerned. They are also provided with two hot meals, counseling, showering and sleeping accommodations. If it is determined that a client needs medical attention, an on-call nurse may be contacted for minor medical needs. However, if warranted, EMS is called and the client is transported to a medical facility. Clients are also encouraged to take advantage of other support services, such as referrals, housing assistance, health screening, and other related services.
For information regarding the centers, call (313) 224-9224, 224-9027 or 610-1859.
In addition, all Detroit Public Library branches will be open and available to the public as respite centers. Check with your local DPL branch for hours. The Recreation Department will also operate four respite sites this winter during normal center operating hours. The recreation center times and locations are as follow:
Butzel Family Center | 7737 Kercheval
Monday - Friday | 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
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Crowell Recreation Center | 19601 Lahser Rd
Tuesday - Friday | 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Heilmann Recreation Center | 16630 Crusade
Tuesday - Friday | 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Williams Recreation Center | 8431 Rosa Parks Blvd.
Monday - Friday | 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Call the Recreation Department at (313) 224-1100 for more information.
