The nonprofit group Share the Warmth is in its fifth year of providing shelter to the homeless in Hillsdale County during the winter months.
“There should be no such thing as having nowhere to go during the winter,” founder Penny Myers said. “We provide a warm, safe place.”
Myers began Share the Warmth of Hillsdale in November of 2017, but the group began providing overnight shelter in 2019. Since then, she and her volunteers have hosted around 13 homeless people each night in their shelter.
“We’ve been averaging between 12 to 14,” Myers said. “Our highest night of the season has been 19, and our lowest was two in the very beginning. We do get people that will come in for a night or two, but a lot of them will be there most of the season.”
The shelter works out of Sozo Church at 7 S. Manning St. from 7:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. every night. It is open between November and April and will close for the season on Friday, April 1.
During its hours of operation, guests have access to two meals, a bed, a shower, and a washer and dryer.
“I would like to put in another shower, but whether or not the church would allow it is up to them,” Myers said. “We try to stay open all summer long for once a week showers or laundry. We don’t do a lot of advertising for that, we basically just say it’s for the homeless.”
Donations from the community have paid for every amenity the shelter provides.
“If I put a grocery list on Facebook, everything on that list gets donated within two days,” Myers said. “When we got the washer and dryer in, it was the community that rose to the occasion and donated them. We ask and they fulfill.”
When Myers first established the organization, she said community members were hesitant about what to expect.
“At first, the community was a little bit afraid,” Myers said. “Even myself, I didn’t even realize Hillsdale County had an issue with homelessness. But there was a definite need.”
Since then, Share the Warmth has attracted nearly 40 regular volunteers.
“Penny is my mother, so I’ve been working here for every season,” volunteer Chrissy Monroe said.
Those who would like to volunteer should contact Myers via the Share the Warmth of Hillsdale on Facebook.
Volunteers undergo initial training after signing up, Myers said, including orientation. The group also teaches a basic self-defense class at the beginning of the season, she said.
Senior Ryan Burbage began volunteering to help the homeless at the shelter in early 2021.
“I’ve gotten to know a handful of them pretty well, a couple in particular, and since I’m there once or twice a week, they’ll come in and talk to me for a minute,” Burbage said.
Burbage has bonded with some who use the shelter’s services, he said.
“The guy I know best got a portable DVD player, so we’re going to watch ‘Independence Day’ in a couple days, which will be a lot of fun,” Burbage said.
Some of the homeless are very grateful for Share the Warmth, according to Burbage.
“I have talked to a few of them, and they have been homeless in other cities and very much prefer this place,” Burbage said.
Over the years, Myers and her volunteers have had many touching moments with guests of the facility. Monroe even invited two of them into her home for months.
“I got in a little bit of trouble in the first season for bringing a couple guests home with me. They lived with me for several months,” Monroe said. “It’s hard not to take some home with you. It pulls on your heart to see them in the situations they are in.”
The two guests were dating, and both were addicted to drugs before staying at the Monroe household.
“I ended up taking the man back and forth to Jackson, where he got his GED,” Monroe said. “He decided he’d like to go home to Florida where his parents lived, so I bought him the plane ticket.”
Success stories have become common among guests at Share the Warmth.
“I have seen several of the homeless people in Hillsdale get their lives together and get places to live,” Monroe said. “We’ve had several from our first and second seasons that have gotten homes and are still thriving.”
Myers says the group still has work to be done, such as finding a permanent building that can be open year-round. Nevertheless, many guests are content with the work the shelter has done.
“One night I was getting ready to leave and there were three or four guests sitting on the bench outside waiting to get in,” Myers said. “I said ‘I’m sorry we can’t do more,’ and they said ‘Don’t be sorry about anything, what you’re doing is better than anything we’ve ever received.’”
