Making a Difference: Salinas Warming Center
Temperatures at night can drop down near freezing and that presents a big threat to those who are homeless. The City of Salinas officers a warming shelter for those in need and is this week’s Making a Difference story.
“It’s cold, it’s cold out there. The concrete is cold, even when you have a blanket under you the concrete is still cold,” said Michelle, a part of Relief Staff at the Salinas Warming Shelter.
Michelle who didn’t give us her last name says she never asked to be homeless.
“I didn’t wake up one day and decide to be homeless…I didn’t ask for my circumstances.”
For years she says she battled a vicious cycle of abuse and addiction, “I just wanted to get off the streets. I just wanted a bed to lay my head on. I just wanted to be safe.”
Cold and desperate she turned to the Hamilton House in Seaside.
“I just needed somebody to love me and believe in me; to speak life into me and I got that when I came to this agency,” Two years later, Michelle is working and volunteering with the Salinas Warming Shelter.
Funded by the city and Monterey County, Shelter Outreach Plus helps homeless people stay warm on cold nights during the winter months. The shelter also provides valuable resources to help homeless people find their way.
“It can hit anybody. It doesn’t discriminate. Many people who worked in very good jobs that all of the sudden hit rock bottom,” said executive director Reyes Bonilla.
“Some of these people may not have the right guide, direction…We’re here to help them and guide them but more importantly let them know every night we’re here to keep you safe from the streets.”
Resources Michelle says are crucial to helping others do what she did, break the cycle of homelessness, “They leave with hope. They leave feeling empowered they move on to the next step of their journey. It’s pretty awesome.”
Making a Difference by providing food, care, and warmth to those without a home.
