JONESBORO, Ga. — All this week, a small church just off Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro has been doing its part to serve the community by transforming into a warming station.
“The weather is the coldest it's been during this cold snap. We want to make sure everyone is safe. We don’t want anyone getting harmed from hypothermia," Te' Julianne Brown said.
Church leaders said they are expecting at least 10 more people on Saturday, so they are working double-duty to prepare by bringing in a special heater.
“It will heat the sanctuary within 10 minutes flat. So if we had to really quick say, 'OK, we’ve got to house 10 more people in there within 10 minutes,' we could have it warm. We could have it at 72 degrees," co-pastor Sabra Skidmore said.
Skidmore says aside from turning up the heat, they have wrapped the pipes inside the building to ensure it's weather-proofed and safe.
Organizers here at the church said that once the weather breaks and people no longer need a warming shelter, they plan to keep their doors open by using this room as a drop-in center of sorts where people can stop by and get all the essential items they need.
“What we’re going to be doing is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we will be providing resources such as a hot meal and showers. This will be a place of safety and of love and acceptance," said Brown.
Both Brown and Skidmore say they’ve been blessed with community support of this effort.
“We’ve been able to keep everybody warm. The food, we’ve had hot meals, and all of those things play into factor of keeping warm from the outside temperatures,' said Skidmore.