Winter weather should become a fact of life in the region anytime now and the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless’ Code Blue Collaborative is ready.
The organization announced that it will have a new shelter site operated by the Salvation Army at 950 Main St. as soon as next week, according to Naida Pizarro, secretary and co-chair at the WNY Coalition for the Homeless, and a part of the Code Blue collaborative. This new location will have 75 beds, the same number as that of the existing overnight shelter by Restoration Society Inc. at 586 Genesee St.
The Genesee Street location has been operating since Tuesday. It also serves as a daytime warming center from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. when Code Blue is in effect.
Code Blue is the weather safety program that provides shelter, food and transportation to not only the homeless but to anyone facing trouble navigating the weather when the temperature and wind chill falls below 32 degrees. The operation lasts for 168 days, from Nov. 15 to April 30.
In 2022, Code Blue served 1,439 people and an additional 250 individuals during the Christmas week blizzard that claimed the lives of 47 people.
Earlier in September, Pizarro spoke about her concerns regarding the lack of a second site when, because of rising supply costs, Restoration Society announced it could operate only one site. This led the Code Blue Collaborative to work on finding a second site.
The Salvation Army was one of the many organizations that expressed interest in being a part of this initiative and began working with the collaborative to put a plan in place.
“Without Salvation Army stepping up, and the collaborative working together, we would not have the second site, and that would put up to 75 people at risk if they had nowhere to go,” Pizarro said.
The collaborative includes Restoration Society, Salvation Army, 211 WNY, Erie County, the City of Buffalo, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy, Hearts for the Homeless, BestSelf…
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