Shelter against cold opens for homeless

With low temperatures projected in the high 20s on Sunday and Monday, the SafeHouse located at Rose Hill United Methodist Church will provide a warming station for the homeless.

The National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ga., said the low temperatures will be around 29 degrees on Sunday and Monday with highs in the low 50s.

To get people off the streets, SafeHouse will open at 7 a.m. Sunday and will not close until 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Forecasters said the below freezing mornings are part of a cold front moving through the region.

"You will notice a difference on Sunday," said Bob Jeswald, chief meteorologist and weather forecaster for WRBL-TV3. "The front should be making its way overnight. By Sunday morning when you wake up, you will know the cold air is in."

The American Red Cross has provided 75 cots and blankets for the warming station at 2101 Hamilton Road. The church will serve meals on both nights.

Similar plans are in place at the Valley Rescue Mission to help more men get off the streets, said Robert Morgan, an assistant at the 2903 Second Ave. shelter.

Morgan said the mission usually has 50 men at the shelter but will add five to eight more beds when the temperature drops below freezing.

"We are going to do our best," he said.

At SafeHouse, volunteers also are in need of coffee, sugar and toilet paper. Items may be dropped off at the church or cash donations may be mailed to 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, GA 31904.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Shelter against cold opens for homeless ."