Temperatures haven’t dropped to wintertime lows quite yet, although the forecast says they might just after Halloween.
A team of volunteers that mans the Gilmer Warming Center is already prepared for when the cold arrives.
The community warming center, located in the left front side of the Gilmer County Civic Center, provides a place where anyone needing shelter from the cold can stay the night. Its operating season officially starts the last week of October.
That doesn’t exactly mean the center will open just then, but volunteers will be on call to open it when the forecast calls for temperatures below 32 degrees, confirmed Sandy Webb, the warming center’s team coordinator.
“The first year, when we had it (opening) at 32 degrees, people didn’t show up. But the more people found out about it, they did start showing up,” she added.
Webb said the team needs additional volunteers to help open and supervise the warming center this season. On the nights it opens, there should be at least two volunteers per 10 people staying there, although it’s not often that 10 arrive on any given night.
“The most we ever had (except for around Christmas last year) has been about seven. It varies,” said Webb. “Right now, we are sort of scant on volunteers. We’ve had people move or they’re doing other things, so we are trying to recruit some new people. We would like to fill out our teams so they only have to serve one week a month.”
This season’s first training session for warming center volunteers was held at the Civic Center in October, but Webb said other training sessions can be held if interest from potential volunteers is there.
“We (usually) try to get as many people trained at one time as we can, but we can do one-on-one training as well,” she added.
When guests arrive at the center, they are welcome to stay until early the next morning. A meal and snacks are provided. Even if only one person shows up, that person will be able to stay the night, Webb confirmed.
The warming center saw its biggest ever attendance last year during a single-digit Christmastime deep freeze. Stranded motorists who’d left their vehicles on nearby roadsides accounted for most of the 23 guests who arrived that icy night — an example of how quickly the turnout can change given inclement weather conditions.
“We had to man the center 24 hours a day (then) because people couldn’t get out for two or three days,” Webb said.
Times when the warming center will open are usually posted on Facebook, most often by Gilmer County Emergency Management.
For more details on volunteering or helping the Gilmer Warming Center, contact Sandy Webb at 859-536-0179.