FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - With temperatures below freezing this week, many who don’t have a warm place to stay were able to find shelter at the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army typically opens their shelter at night, but with temperatures in the single digits on Wednesday (Jan. 7,) they kept their facilities open 24 hours and made extra space to accommodate everyone who need a warm place to stay.
“We [normally] are a night program for the individuals who need a bed,” Salvation Army Major N.J. Pope said. “[But] when the temperature in the day time is not going above 23 degrees, we are going to keep a day center open, for the warming of our individuals."
Pope said the shelter often runs out of beds during freezing weather.
“That is the case this week,” he said.
Pope said the Salvation Army will help anyone who comes to them from those who are homeless to families who take shelter at the facilities when they don't have heat at home. The Salvation Army also provides food.
“We feed every day at 5PM to anybody who is hungry,” Pope said. “We feed those, who spend the night here, two meals; the night meal, and the morning meal.”
The Salvation Army also opens the doors to its shelter during the summer to those who need to escape the heat.