New shelter to get Macon’s homeless out of the cold already expanding. ‘It’s a godsend.’

After the death of her friend in March 2020, Susan DuPont found herself without stable housing.

In between living in hotels, DuPont lived on the street, and she visited many shelters along the way.

“I survived obviously, and, knock on wood, I didn’t catch the virus,” she said.

DuPont was admitted to Coliseum Center for Behavioral Health to treat an impulse control disorder when she was told about the Brookdale Warming Center.

“I’ve been in a few shelters and this is probably the Taj Mahal, compared to some of them,” she said. “I personally think it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever come across as far as helping people with nowhere to go.”

The Brookdale Warming Center opened up a third hallway in the old school building Tuesday, increasing its capacity from 120 people to 180, said Steve Bell, director of the warming center.

The temperatures are supposed to drop next week, so Bell said they wanted to make sure they had plenty of space for an expected influx of people. The center currently houses around 70-80 guests per night.

“This facility has worked out just perfectly because there’s such security in the building that you can’t get through the front door if we don’t buzz you in. Then you can’t get to the foyer. There’s always a deputy here,” he said.

Brookdale Elementary School was closed along with Riley Elementary School, and the staff and students from both schools now attend the new John R. Lewis Elementary School that replaced Riley.

What does the center need now?

Because of the community support of the center, Bell said they don’t really need material donations, such as clothes and bedding.

The center does need monetary donations and volunteers to keep running effectively, Bell said.

People can make donate money through the United Way of Central Georgia’s COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund, which can be found at unitedwaycg.org/covid19resources. To volunteer, sign up at unitedwaycg.org/volunteer.

The center was initially funded by a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia and United Way of Central Georgia with The Salvation Army providing three meals a day to the guests, Bell said.

“We’re very lucky that the community has shown such great support,” he said. “We’re very, very lucky to have so many agencies and nonprofits that we worked with on this.”

Offering more than a place to sleep

Wednesday marks two weeks since the center has been open, and it is time to start providing more services for the guests than warmth and food, Bell said.

“The first thing we work on is their basic needs. So, the Warming Center provides a dry, warm and safe place to stay and three meals a day,” he said. “We have case managers here that will help these individuals with other certain needs and that’s where we partner with the other agencies.”

Some agencies are sending representatives each week to meet with guests and help with issues including housing, job security and addiction, Bell said.

“The first week or so we were putting out fires of building this up. Now we’re starting to really get into helping with those services,” he said.

DuPont said she hopes to find a place to live and get a job once she is settled, and other shelters she has visited haven’t been as helpful. Plus, she likes that the Brookdale Warming Center allows her to stay all day instead of making her leave in the morning.

“When you’re out there and it’s 19 degrees, and you march in the snowfall and you catch pneumonia, and then you’re told about someplace that’s going to be warm, that will make sure there’s staff available to talk to. You’re safe,” she said. “When you’re out there, especially in a pandemic, with everything going on and the world just being crazy… I think it’s a godsend.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 12:00 AM.