LANSING, Mich — As temperatures in Lansing prepare to plunge into the single digits, the city’s warming centers are stepping up to keep people safe from the dangerous cold.
- The City of Lansing extended its 'Code Blue' plan in place and is set to last at least another week.
- Shelters in the city are working as much as they can to provide space for people experiencing homelessness.
- One shelter in particular offers services solely for families in the neighborhood.
WATCH: LANSING WARMING CENTERS BATTLE DANGEROUS COLD WITH EXPANDED SERVICES
For more than 40 years, Advent House Ministries has offered a weekend day shelter — open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. — serving three hot meals and giving guests a place to stay warm all day.
During Lansing's Code Blue declaration, the organization’s work expands to overnight operations at the Letts Community Center, one of the city's warming centers for adults experiencing homelessness.
“We’re averaging about 70 people a night. In fact, a couple of nights was higher, some lower," said Susan Camcro, executive director of Advent House Ministries. "We had a family with eight children at one point who was in there. But then Union Missionary Baptist opened up, and that was great, because they really needed to be in a different environment, more focused on their needs."
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Camcro says that since Thanksgiving, nearly 190 different people have sought shelter at the Letts Community Center. Families in need are now directed to Union Missionary Baptist Church, which offers cots, showers, and lockers.
With rising housing costs, fewer affordable options, and high expenses for food and transportation, Camcro believes more people are facing homelessness now than decades ago.
Her message to families is clear: it’s okay to accept help.
WATCH: BLANKETS, COTS AND COMMUNITY— LANSING CHURCH HELPS FAMILIES ESCAPE THE COLD
“Families out there need to know that it's okay to go to shelter. There's no negative in that from anyone's measure — that if that's what you need to do to keep your children safe, then do it. And Union Missionary Baptist is open and available to families,” said Camcro.
The Letts Community Center and Union Missionary Baptist Church will remain open nightly during Code Blue, with cold temperatures expected through the end of January.
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