As temperatures drop, once again Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada will be opening the doors at their St. Vincent's Dining Room in the early morning hours.

"We are starting our warming center on Friday so our individuals who are on the streets during this terribly cold time, or may be coming out of of the overflow shelters, they will have a safe, warm place to start their day at six in the morning," said Marie Baxter, CEO of Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada.  "That center will stay open until 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning, provide a little breakfast and help people stay safe because it's so cold before the sun comes up."

This is the second year the nonprofit has opened its doors early to help those in need.

"There is a tremendous need," Baxter said.   "Last year we ran this as a pilot and on our first day we had more than 400 individuals show up.  We averaged about 280 people a day.  It's so cold, people get frostbite, they get hypothermia, they can actually freeze to death and die on our streets.  So having a warm place where folks can come until the sun comes up, until services start is a critical need."

Volunteers play a huge role in the outreach here, and their efforts don't go unnoticed.

"The people that come here are incredibly grateful," Baxter said.   "I actually had a gentleman last year come up and say, you know, the most dangerous time to be homeless on the streets is between 5 am and 8 a.m.   It's cold, it's dark, there's no services.   People may be struggling with some substance use issues, they might be coming off of what that is.   It's a violent time, people get assaulted, it's scary.  So coming here where it's safe, it's light, it's warm and people genuinely care about how you're starting your day, it just shifts the whole dynamic and it's really important."

The dining room will be open early starting on November first though the end of February and if it's cold enough, could extend those hours into March.

"This, of course, is in addition to all of the other work we do," Baxter said.   "We still provide lunch here in the St. Vincent's dining room Monday through Saturday.  Our food pantry is open, we give out coats and blankets, and we have a lot of emergency services for rental assistance and things like that.  We are always trying to connect the people who come here  with other services to help them maybe not be homeless, or not be in such a perilous situation."

More information: https://ccsnn.org/