A local rescue mission has officially taken to the road in its efforts to assist homeless people living in and around Niagara Falls.
The mission’s new program is designed to ensure homeless people find shelter when temperatures drop below 32 degrees, a level that allows for the issuance of an emergency declaration known as “Code Blue.”
This year, mission staff, working as a specialized unit known as the Quick Reaction Force, are proactively seeking out homeless individuals during Code Blue events in an effort to make sure they are able to find shelter when temps dip below freezing. The team, using a van donated by the Western New York Ford Dealers, drives around neighborhoods in the Falls, North Tonawanda, and other parts of the county during Code Blue events to help find any homeless persons looking for shelter. The new Code Blue program launched for the first time last week.
In addition, team members have used the van to deliver care packages, to those individuals who refuse transportation, containing a blanket, hats, gloves and snacks.
“It has been a great experience working with those in our community in need of aid,” said Ken Good, Code Blue director at the mission. “We here at Niagara Gospel Mission hope to continue to spread the word of the assistance we are seeking to provide during the cold winter months.”
Good said the outreach program reached several individuals in need over multiple nights with below-freezing temperatures last week, located at 1317 Portage Road in the Falls.
With the weather reaching below freezing on multiple nights over the past week, Niagara Gospel Mission has begun to open its doors to those in need. The staff and team at the mission have already been able to see the positive impact it has had on many people’s lives. Ken Good, Code Blue director at the mission, said, “It has been a great experience working with those in our community in need of aid. We here at Niagara Gospel Mission hope to continue to spread the word of the assistance we are seeking to provide during the cold winter months.”
The mission, located at 1317 Portage Road, has already been averaging around 12 people per night and Good said it has been seeing growth each evening as word is spreading in the community.
The mission currently has space for up to 60 men per night. Mission representatives are also working alongside Community Missions of the Niagara Frontier to help shuttle women and children seeking shelter to their facilities. Each person who enters Niagara Gospel Mission for Code Blue in the evening is given a warm blanket, hot coffee, cold water, snacks, dinner, breakfast and access to showers.
Good said the program also offers something equally important: Hope.
“Our goal is that no homeless person in Niagara County has to spend a night out in the freezing weather, hypothermia is a leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness and our program is designed to help prevent this as the winter continues,” he said.
If you are in the city of Niagara Falls and would like to donate or know more about the Niagara Gospel Mission, call 716-205-8805, ext. 107. The Niagara Gospel Mission exists to rebuild Niagara Falls through the rebuilding of lives and the reviving of hearts of everyone they meet in the community.