Not Enough Warming Centers During Cold Snap

MILWAUKEE - As the temperatures drop there's growing concern about the homeless because while there are warming centers scattered all over Milwaukee County there just aren't enough beds for everybody. 
From the outside Tippecanoe Presbyterian looks like a regular church, but Reverend Karen Hagen says the homeless guests who come here have nicknamed it the Hilton.
"They get relationship they get respect they get self dignity and a safe place to sleep and a hot meal," says Reverend. Karen Hagen or Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church. 

The warming center has been here for seven years. Up to 25 people can stay from December to March to escape the cold. Reverend Hagen says - there aren't enough centers like these and this year the need has been greater than usual. 

"One of the biggest challenges is how we support people we have to turn away because there's no space here. We have been over capacity this whole week," says Hagen. 

The future is in question too. It costs about 60 thousand dollars to run Tippecanoe's warming room. It's funded in part by Milwaukee Continuum of Care and the government money for that program is drying up. 
"The woman who came to the side door and handed me five dollars, that was a gracious gift. We need that five dollars every bit as much as we need another pair of socks. This is a community that cares and is willing to go out of business with a bang if that's what it takes in order to do right things," says Hagen.

The Milwaukee Continuum of Care says if there's an organization or church that would like to help or open up a warming center to contact them by clicking here
  
Help out Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church by clicking here.

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