SEYMOUR, Ind. — It's a one-of-a-kind effort to keep our homeless off the streets during these dangerously cold days and it's working. A group of churches throughout Seymour, Indiana are working together to make sure everyone has a warm bed a night.
"It's just hard to imagine what it would be like," Tom Polley, a member of Central Christian Church said, as he described seeing people living on the streets.
Wednesday marked his first day volunteering for the new 'Cold Night Out' shelter, developed in December.
On any given night in Seymour, the city says more than 50 people can be found sleeping outside.
"I was sleeping in my car, and I had nowhere to go. I didn't know where I was going to get a meal," one man said.
On a morning when the temperatures drop to near zero, with the wind chills diving into the negatives, "you would freeze to death," he said.
Until recently, the city of Seymour did not have a homeless shelter open to everyone. Some facilities provide shelters for men only, or families, but there is only so much room, with a limited night stay and in some cases, rent is involved.
"We thought we were just going to get people off the streets so they wouldn't die," Rev. Dr. Sondra Gentry, with Bethel Community Church said.
Bethel, a 15-member congregation, and two other churches realized the need for a shelter in their community. Within days, a new program was born. Dr. Gentry received a $500 grant from Walmart to buy beds and necessities. Then, other churches followed. On Dec. 1, each church began rotating on a weekly basis, housing the homeless every night of the week. They offer beds, showers and in some cases a washer and dryer.
"I think it's great because I've been there myself. I was homeless, I lived in a tent," Susan Tormoehlen, the 'celebrate recovery' coordinator at The Alley, in Seymour said. "The Alley saved my life, so I feel The Alley could save everybody's life."
The Alley, has become the meeting spot for area homeless. It provides dinners to anyone who walks through the doors between 4:30 and 6 p.m. and then provides transportation to the shelters each night.
Today, 8 churches are a part of the 'Cold Night Out' shelter.
"It has unified congregations," Tormoehlen said.
Together, they've served close to 40 people, including several families with young children. While it wasn't their intention, Dr. Gentry says 11 people have been baptized and most get jobs within a week.
"A lot of times, having a place to stay will kick-start all of it. It eases the worry and the stress you have because you have a bed to sleep in that night," Tormoehlen said.
Seymour's mayor, Craig Luedeman, fully supports the program. This week, he offered the senior center as a night shelter, which has seen on average about 8 people a day. He says he will continue to monitor which city-owned buildings aren't in use certain weeks out of the year, which could be used for future shelters.
This community also recognizes how important it is to have not only a place to stay at night, but also during the day. Currently, members at Rockford United Methodist Church open their doors every Wednesday and Saturday morning.
Over the next couple of months, these churches will decide if these emergency shelters should continue year-round or if their support will be needed elsewhere.
►Contact reporter Brooke Hasch at bhasch@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Hasch) and Facebook.