WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Shelters are gearing up for those in need trying to stay warm and dry in the winter weather.
What You Need To Know
- White flag and code purple shelters have opened across the state as temperatures drop
- The Samaritan Ministries Inn is open year-round for men ages 18 and older for up to 90 days, 24 hours a day
- Samaritan Ministries' soup kitchen has served meals over 15,000 days in a row
- The organization is always in need of volunteers and donations
Samaritan Ministries of Winston-Salem was founded in 1981, helping provide resources such as food and shelter to those in the community who need it most.
Samaritan Ministries executive director Jan Kelly has been working at the organization since 2011. She previously worked in fundraising for a food bank.
“We really can invest in the lives of other people here that we serve. … I never thought I would be working at a soup kitchen or a shelter. When I came here to work at Samaritan, I really fell in love with the place, because you really get to know guests and their stories, and everybody's stories are a little bit different,” Kelly said.
The soup kitchen is open seven days a week, 365 days a year, and in 2022 provided 101,603 meals.
“We have served lunch over 15,000 days in a row since we opened in 1981,” Kelly said.
Anyone is welcome at the soup kitchen, which serves 250-300 meals a day, each costing the organization $3.96.
“We are a consistent presence in the lives of people who have a lot of inconsistencies in their lives. But we are always here. We don't ask any questions. It doesn't matter to us how many times people eat here. It doesn't matter whether they come every day or just once,” Kelly said.
With low temperatures, it is important to keep nutritious meals in the body. As the National Institutes of Health says, shivering from being cold burns brown fat cells, which are used to heat your body, which means shaking from cold temperatures depletes calories and energy faster.
“There's nothing like a hot meal that can really help warm your spirits but also your body,” Kelly said.
White flag and code purple shelters have continued to open across North Carolina due to frigid temperatures.
Besides a warm meal, men ages 18 and older can stay at the Samaritan Inn 24 hours a day up to 90 days.
With colder temperatures, there has been an increase in the number of residents at the shelter.
“We were at 95, 96% capacity on those nights when it was really cold in December. So we certainly expect to be full this weekend when the weather turns,” Kelly said.
Every 24 hours someone stays at the temporary emergency shelter, it costs Samaritan $64.97, which provides three meals, clean linens, clean showers and access to a laundry room.
“We have 70 beds in our emergency shelter. We typically stay at or close to capacity,” Kelly said.
Samaritan Ministries is also always looking for volunteers, as 12 are needed at lunch time every day and six to eight for dinner service. Kelly says donations of food and clothing are appreciated.
“People have been so generous to us, especially through these winter months of giving coats and blankets and hats and gloves. And we've really tried to get those out as quickly as possible to folks. We try to take in new items for people just because we don't have the storage space or the time to sort through a large amount of restorations,” Kelly said.
Every year Samaritan Ministries must raise enough money to cover its budget to provide service, which is around $1.7 million.
“We have a budget that starts at zero every year in July and we have to raise $1.7 million through the year. We probably raised, I'd say, 60 to 65% of our funding for the year. So the next six months we have to raise the rest of the money,” Kelly said.
Samaritan Ministries also helps men battling addiction in its Project Cornerstone recovery program.
“They stay here at Samaritan 13, 14, 15 months. They learn coping skills. They learn about the disease model of addiction. And they grow their support network so that when they move to their own housing, they've got a support network in place to stay sober,” Kelly said.
Visit your county or town's website to find white flag or code purple shelters near you.
For more information on how to volunteer or donate, visit the Samaritan Ministries Forsyth County website.