The word Desmond Reed uses to describe his experience during the Christmas week blizzard of 2022 is “scary.”
What saved him was a Code Blue shelter.
“We stayed there all day, all night. They gave us food. They gave us coffee. They gave us recreation,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the shelter, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
Reed, 53, was one of the nearly 150 people seeking shelter at the Matt Urban Human Services Center at 586 Genesee St. to escape the raging storm outside. The shelter was one of the three Code Blue shelters last year that provided everything from hygiene supplies to telephone services to all who walked in.
But this winter, the need for shelters is expected to outstrip demand.
A collaborative effort between WNY Coalition for the Homeless and Restoration Society, Code Blue is Buffalo’s emergency weather safety program. It provides shelter, food and transportation to not only the homeless but also 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, said Nadia Pizarro, secretary and co-chair at the WNY Coalition for the Homeless, who is also onboard the Code Blue collaborative.
Besides the Genesee Street shelter, the other Code Blue shelters include Harbor House and the Holy Cross shelter downtown. Harbor House is an overnight shelter that operates from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. while the other two have warming centers and outreach services available every day.
However, staffing and operational costs have made it impossible for Restoration Society to operate more than one site this year, Pizarro said.
Reed shudders at the possibility of less than one shelter being available.
“If this place was not to be open, that will hurt Buffalo bad,” he said.
The Genesee Street shelter can house 60 to 75 people. However, with an uptick in homelessness, the shelter saw an average of 100 to 130 people per night…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply