WAYNESBORO – With fall-like weather starting to move into the area and bitterly cold winter nights on deck, the Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry (WARM), a non-profit organization that helps house the unsheltered in area churches during the winter, has seen donations slow at the worst time possible.
Every year, WARM coordinates its Cold Weather Shelter with local churches to provide temporary housing for those seeking overnight shelter and a meal during the cold-weather months. This year’s shelters will run for 18 weeks and are being provided by 16 area churches (four additional for overflow), according to Executive Director Alec Gunn, 52, who joined WARM in July.
Last year saw a 33% increase in usage as 202 men and women totaled over 4,000 stays at shelter sites throughout Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County. Gunn said he’s expecting the shelters to see another 20% surge this season and said he anticipates 5,000 stays.
But with the public’s attention, and money at times, focused on two current national disasters that recently unfolded in North Carolina and Florida, trying to raise funds to locally house the unsheltered this winter recently turned into an uphill climb as the Cold Weather Shelter found itself needing to raise approximately $70,000 by Thanksgiving.