12 Days of Volunteering, Day 10: South Oakland Warming Center

The Emmanuel Bethel Church in Royal Oak will be hosting the South Oakland Warming Center through Dec. 31. Those without a home are welcome to seek shelter at the church from 9 p.m.-6:45 a.m. Both dinner and breakfast will be served to guests that choose to utilize the warm sleeping quarters.

"We invite our guests in, give them meals, blankets, pillows and a place to sleep," Pastor Larry Wood said.

This is the fifteenth year the church has hosted the Warming Center during the holidays. Thus far the turnout has been slimmer than in past years, Wood said. According to Wood, the Warming Center typically brings in over 50 guests. The first night they hosted this year, Sunday night, only 16 people sought shelter.

In terms of volunteers, Wood said the shelter still has slots open. Time periods for volunteers include arriving around 8:30 p.m. to greet guests and staying until 11 p.m. At that point the building will be locked down and the Center will no longer be able to accept guests. The second shift for volunteers is for the overnight portion, from 11 p.m.-7 a.m. Wood also added that it is nice for early risers to come help with breakfast and preparing lunches from 5:30–7 a.m. to give those on the overnight shift a relief. Although there is still a need for volunteers every night, Wood stressed they particularly need people Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

"The people we are ministering, our guests, really have the least of everyone among us," Wood said. "When you don't have a place to live — a roof over your head — not many people are worse off than you."

How to help:

Phone Number: 248-549-5452
Address: 4000 Normandy Road, Royal Oak, MI
Website: www.emmanuelbethel.org

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