Bitter cold makes overnight shelter busy
The small homeless population in Butler can count on a home-cooked meal and warm bed when the weather turns frigid.
Bill Halle, founder of the Grace Youth and Family Foundation on Center Avenue, said he is currently seeing six or seven individuals turn up each night to sleep on the relief cots at the winter relief center.
The center is open from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. Those with nowhere to lay their head can get a nutritious, hot meal cooked by volunteers from local churches and a bunked cot to sleep on.
Halle said some clients are involved in drug or alcohol recovery programs, others struggle with mental health issues and some are just down on their luck at the moment.
“We have a guy who got a job and a car, and his car blew up so the job fired him,” Halle said. “He's trying to get back on his feet.”
Now in its seventh year, the winter relief center sees a spike in clients between the end of January and the end of February because sometimes family members or friends will allow someone to sleep on their porch or in their garage over the holidays.
Information on donating to any Grace Youth and Family Foundation program, including the winter relief shelter, is available at www.gyff.org.
A full story appears in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.
