First Presbyterian and Pittman Park lead compassionately with warming shelters

Two local churches demonstrated the power of God's love when they opened a warming shelter for citizens experiencing homelessness during the recent cold snap. Together, they hosted 39 guests in a safe, warm space over the five nights.

First Presbyterian Church (Top) Pittman Park UMC (Bottom)Special

Earlier this month, Bulloch County experienced five nights of extremely cold temperatures. Concerned that this may be too much for our homeless population, Bulloch County Public Safety Director Ted Wynn requested the opening of a warming shelter.

Two local churches heeded the call including First Presbyterian Church Statesboro and Pittman Park United Methodist Church.

Pittman Park opened for two nights and saw 7 guests. First Presbyterian opened the remaining three nights and saw 22 guests. In total, they had 39 guests use the warming shelters over the five nights.

shannon-grindler — Shannon Grindler First Presbyterian member and volunteer plays the piano for guests. Special

The shelters operate in partnership with Bulloch County Volunteer Organizations Activated in Disaster (VOAD) and Bulloch County EMA.

013024-anna-hope-chest — Anna Beecher and volunteer with Fostering Bulloch Hope Chest. Special

In addition to First Presbyterian and Pittman Park UMC, First Baptist Church, Trinity Episcopal, and Compassion Christian are shelter partner churches who stand ready to activate in time of disaster.

Bulloch County EMA provided the cots, and Fostering Bulloch Hope Chest provided bedding, blankets, coats, and hygiene kits to the shelters and also to the Statesboro Police Department and Bulloch County Sheriff's Department to distribute.

The shelters distributed coats, blankets, and hygiene kits to any citizens who requested them.

Over 250 coats were collected by Gil Howard and the Hendrix Sports Shop Coat Drive. These coats were distributed in Portal and Brooklet in addition to the Fostering Bulloch Hope Chest.