South Raleigh News

With bitterly cold temperatures predicted for our area, the Wake Continuum of Care has declared “white flag” status through at least Thursday, Dec. 22.

That means shelters will open to anyone who is homeless or without a safe, reliable heat source, as temperatures drop below 35 degrees.

“It takes a village to operate these shelters and care for the guests who need a warm place to stay during this frigid weather,” said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. “With the holidays approaching, finding volunteers to staff the shelters may be challenging, so we hope the community can lend a hand.”

St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church has taken the lead on coordinating volunteer recruitment efforts and collecting donations. The church is offering the public multiple ways to help:

• Volunteer Shelter Support: Shelter support volunteers help with projects such as food preparation, supply sorting/packaging, set-up and breakdown. This work typically occurs outside of the shelters’ operational hours.
   
• On-site Shelter Staff: These volunteers work during the shelters’ operational hours and attend to shelter residents’ needs.
   
• Donations: Running a shelter requires a lot of resources. St. John’s MCC has created an Amazon Charity Needs List to help secure much-needed items.
   

Anyone interested in volunteering can visit the St. John’s MCC volunteer page to sign up and learn more.

White Flag Shelter Locations

The following locations will be open as white flag shelters every day from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.:

• Men: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, 3313 Wade Ave., Raleigh
   
• Women: Open Table United Methodist Church, 824 N. Bloodworth St., Raleigh
   
• Families with Children: Salvation Army of Wake County, 1863 Capital Blvd., Raleigh
   

Those who need shelter from the cold are welcome at these locations and can call the shelter communications center at 919-834-2611 with questions.

Original source can be found here.