OBK's Warming Station: A safety net for community members experiencing homelessness.
Updated: 7 hours ago
Community members experiencing homelessness with no shelter access encounter several major health risk during the colder months of Michigan's winter. Hypothermia and frostbite are the most commonly seen health risk when exposed to extreme cold weather for extended period of time.
Extreme cold can be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,024 people in the United States died from excessive cold or hypothermia in 2023. CDC data also show that cold-related death rates are generally higher in rural communities than in large metropolitan areas.
In the Fall of 2024, one of our outreach volunteers spotted an unsheltered community member staying under a bridge and coordinated with OBK staff to get the individual into the shelter, then coordinated transportation to a hospital to receive the care they needed. Without proper crisis response when people are unsheltered during extreme weather, extended exposure can result in serious injuries with permanent consequences.
No one should have to experience this level of safety risk in our community. Fall 2024 was the season the Warming Station was born serving 66 guests for 492 bednights from Fall 2024 to Spring 2026.
When temperatures reach 32°F or below, our doors open to unsheltered community members, accomodating 7 guests per night from 5:00pm to 8:00am the following morning. On these cold nights, we offer a warm, safe place to sleep, a hot dinner, a hot shower, and breakfast in the morning.
For community members with nowhere else to go on dangerous winter nights, the Warming Station serves as a critical safety net providing immediate protection from the cold while connecting community members to shelter, support, and a safer path forward.
Help Protect Our Neighbors This Winter
Community support makes it possible for OBK to open the Warming Station on dangerously cold nights and provide immediate safety to people with nowhere else to go.
Give to the Warming Station
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