[Diocese of Western Massachusetts] A new emergency winter shelter at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Northampton, Massachusetts, will provide a warm place to sleep for some residents this winter.
“This project is a Jesus project,” the church’s rector, the Rev. Anna Woofenden, said. “We are called to see the image of God in each and every human being, and no one — no one — should freeze to death in the winter.”
The church’s 12-bed shelter was created to fill a gap in the city’s cold weather housing, operating on cold nights when the city’s shelter reaches its 70-bed capacity. Every winter in Northampton, some 20 nights reach temperatures of 15 degrees Fahrenheit or below, which can pose severe or even fatal risk to those without shelter.
“While we can’t solve all the suffering in the world, we can do our part to re-spin this part of the broken web in our community,” Woofenden said.
Trained volunteers run the shelter at St. John’s, which is fully funded by donations. Many of the area’s unhoused neighbors already are familiar with the church through its Manna Community Kitchen and Community Center.
The shelter will be blessed during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 8. Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher and Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra will take part, along with Woofenden.