As the mid-state braces for cold temperatures this week, area shelters are getting ready.
The Bethesda Mission serves a free dinner to the community every night. But this week they are expecting more people to join them around the table.
In Harrisburg, they bundle up waiting for the bus.
It's just dangerous to be on the street in this cold in the daytime and with weather like this, Bethesda Mission keeps busy.
“We think we might get 50 additional men beyond those who would normally be there,” Chuck Wingate of the Bethesda Mission told us.
Tuesday night, the Harrisburg-based Bethesda Mission expects more guests this week than normal and are prepping up.
“We have extra food, more mats to put on the floors, so were heating up so we won't turn away anybody and for everything it takes to accommodate extra people,” Wingate continued. “Those who need shelter will stay in cots like these.”
As temperatures drop, more mattresses will too. The mattresses will be placed in a chapel area.
“We have a mobile mission van that normally goes out on Friday and Saturday nights but the fact is the jungle telegraph works really well in Harrisburg and people know the Mission is here,” Wingate said.
Gregory Reese is on food duty this week. Being a guest for the last two months means he's picking up responsibilities.
“What Bethesda provides is a place to stay and to provide a program to work on life skills,” Reese told us.
Stocked goods like those are donated from the community.
The things that we do here are all from the community and not a penny of government money,” Reese told us.
So as it gets colder, the mission has a mission of their own.
“We want people to know this is a safe clean place where they'll get the care and welcoming accommodation that will give them a respite from the cold, terrible weather here for the next couple days,” Wingate concluded.
The mission relies solely on donations including food, clothes to protect against the cold and volunteers.
For more information on how to help Bethesda Mission, just click on the attached link or on Find It.
The Bethesda Mission serves a free dinner to the community every night. But this week they are expecting more people to join them around the table.
In Harrisburg, they bundle up waiting for the bus.
It's just dangerous to be on the street in this cold in the daytime and with weather like this, Bethesda Mission keeps busy.
“We think we might get 50 additional men beyond those who would normally be there,” Chuck Wingate of the Bethesda Mission told us.
Tuesday night, the Harrisburg-based Bethesda Mission expects more guests this week than normal and are prepping up.
“We have extra food, more mats to put on the floors, so were heating up so we won't turn away anybody and for everything it takes to accommodate extra people,” Wingate continued. “Those who need shelter will stay in cots like these.”
As temperatures drop, more mattresses will too. The mattresses will be placed in a chapel area.
“We have a mobile mission van that normally goes out on Friday and Saturday nights but the fact is the jungle telegraph works really well in Harrisburg and people know the Mission is here,” Wingate said.
Gregory Reese is on food duty this week. Being a guest for the last two months means he's picking up responsibilities.
“What Bethesda provides is a place to stay and to provide a program to work on life skills,” Reese told us.
Stocked goods like those are donated from the community.
The things that we do here are all from the community and not a penny of government money,” Reese told us.
So as it gets colder, the mission has a mission of their own.
“We want people to know this is a safe clean place where they'll get the care and welcoming accommodation that will give them a respite from the cold, terrible weather here for the next couple days,” Wingate concluded.
The mission relies solely on donations including food, clothes to protect against the cold and volunteers.
For more information on how to help Bethesda Mission, just click on the attached link or on Find It.