For many unhoused people, New Jersey church’s warming center is both shelter and community

[Episcopal News Service] When temperatures drop below freezing in Monmouth County, New Jersey, the local sheriff’s office issues a “Code Blue” alert to activate warming centers and other emergency resources for unhoused people.

Trinity Church in Asbury Park, a seaside city on the Jersey Shore, is always prepared for “Code Blue” nights. The Episcopal church runs the county’s largest drop-in overnight warming center for adults, which over the years has become a community of its own.

“We provide a place of both literal, physical warmth, and also spiritual warmth,” the Rev. Chase Danford, Trinity’s rector, told Episcopal News Service. “A lot of people look forward to ‘Code Blue’ nights because they get not only safe shelter on a freezing night, but also a free meal and a social environment.”

Trinity employs four social workers each winter to run the center throughout the night. When a “Code Blue” is issued, the staff and volunteers set up tables, zero-gravity chairs, snacks, beverages and activities in the church’s auditorium. When doors open at 7 p.m., visitors are greeted with hot, homemade meals. After dinner, they play games, read books and complete puzzles – all provided by the church for free.

“Uno and dominoes are very popular, checkers, cards … we have artists who ask for paper and pencils to draw. It’s very lively here until lights-out around 10, 11 o’clock,” Jill Osis, Trinity’s director of operations, told ENS. “We’ve had a chess grandmaster who was one of our ‘Code Blue’ community members teach people chess whenever he stayed with us.”

When a “Code Blue” night was issued for Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve, everyone at the warming center stayed up past midnight to watch the Times Square ball drop countdown in New York and celebrate.

“Code Blue” nights also mean movie night at Trinity. Action and comedy films are the most requested, as well as live sports, according to Osis. If a “Code Blue” is issued on Feb. 8, Super Bowl Sunday, Trinity will stream the National Football League championship game at the warming center.

“The TV’s hooked up to several streaming services, so people get to watch the newest games and films that are just coming out of the movie theater and be able to talk about them with their friends,” Osis said. “For many of these people, this is the only way they can watch new films and have some sort of movie theater experience. It brings a sense of being part of a wider community that, most of the time, they feel separated from and unseen. But they get to experience something fun together and make positive memories. There’s joy and there’s hope in that.”

The warming center includes a designated room for women who don’t want to be grouped with men. Women who experience domestic violence are four times more likely to become unhoused than those who don’t, according to data compiled by researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“The women’s room has brought a lot of women into the warming center who might have chosen to stay outside rather than come inside because they’re afraid of what the general population’s going to be like,” Osis said.

Trinity’s warming center is limited to adults because, according to Danford, “it’s not an appropriate environment for children. …It’s a friendly and welcoming community, but it can still be intimidating for children to be around 100 adults.” The church instead refers families to nearby child-friendly partner centers.

Trinity’s center also, for now, can’t shelter anyone with mobility challenges because its facilities aren’t wheelchair accessible. While the church works to improve accessibility for people with physical disabilities, a partner social services organization, Mercy Center, is operating a designated disability-accessible warming center in Asbury Park.

“We hope Trinity will be accessible by next year, but, thankfully, we’ve built relationships in the community with organizations that can serve people in wheelchairs,” Danford said.

On “Code Blue” nights, church partners, including a substance abuse disorder organization, caseworkers, financial counselors and doctors, will visit the warming center to offer resources. Staff and volunteers also always carry drug test strips and Narcan, the nasal spray version of the drug naloxone, which can quickly reverse an opioid overdose when immediately administered.

Trinity’s ministry for unhoused people isn’t limited to “Code Blue” nights. The church always has hats, gloves, hand warmers, foot warmers and other necessities available to help people stay warm during the day. The church also runs a soup community meal on Saturdays and a food pantry on Tuesdays.

Additionally, Trinity’s Radical Wellbeing Program helps unhoused people find affordable housing and jobs. The program also provides financial coaching, mental health support, medical support and more.

Sometimes, unhoused people just ask for pastoral support, and Danford said he will make time to pray with them.

“Many unhoused people don’t have anyone in their lives, so they’re by themselves almost all the time,” Danford said. “It’s one small way to be a good neighbor, and that value is very much integrated into Trinity’s congregation.”

Demand for Trinity’s services has grown as homelessness in New Jersey continues to increase. Homelessness in the state spiked at 57% between 2022 and 2025. As of January 2025, 13,748 New Jersey residents are unhoused, up 8% from 2024, according to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and the Monarch Housing Associates’ latest “point-in-time” count.

New Jersey’s growing affordable housing shortage, compounded by rising living costs, economic instability, stagnant wages and other issues are fueling the state’s homeless crisis, according to the “point-in-time” count.

In 2025, Trinity served more than 400 people over 98 “Code Blue” nights, including one night when 105 people stayed at the warming center.

“This ministry is about saving lives, not just through giving people shelter, but by meeting the needs of the whole person, whether that’s through giving them resources or just playing games or watching movies together,” Danford said. “By putting love into action, we’re serving the physical and spiritual needs of our fellow beloved children of God with the reverence they deserve.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.