COLORADO SPRINGS — As Southern Colorado awaits another cold snap to pass through Wednesday, one local church remains on standby to help those experiencing homeless once the temperature drops.
The church turns its gym into a warming center when possible, giving people a hot meal and warm clothes to keep. Pastor Eric Sandras with the church said it can be difficult to get the word out about the church's resources to people on the streets.
"A lot of our folks don't have access to technology like that on the streets, so we literally have to go find them. We literally have to go to the places where we know they're camping by the river or under the bridges and invite them to a different place," he said.
The Sanctuary Church received a 15-passenger van donated by Pando Collective, a nonprofit in Colorado Springs, two months ago. Since then, volunteers with the church have gone out during nights with subzero temperatures to find those needing warmth on the streets. Selena Galindo has volunteered her time driving the van, sometimes until 3 a.m.
"You worry about them. You worry are they going to make it through the night? Are they going to be able to, you know, survive this cold?" she said. "Twenty people out of maybe 50 will turn us away and say no, they don't want to come. They're scared or they just don't want to leave their camp area. They don't want to leave their belongings."
Sandras said the church has been building a foundation of trust with those experiencing homelessness to better serve them.
"We work to know their stories, we work to know them by name, and they feel human and loved and cared for," he said. "They walk in looking at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact and then they leave with conversations and smiles on their faces and warm food in their stomach."
The Sanctuary Church hosts a food pantry every first and third Saturday of the month from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The church also serves breakfast and coffee every Sunday at 9 a.m.
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