Monroe County’s only overnight shelter has been a lifesaver

Options are limited in a harsh winter during COVID-19 pandemic

This winter, the Poconos have often seen temperatures plummet below freezing. December saw an average low of 27 degrees at night in Stroudsburg. January saw an average of 25 degrees.

Meanwhile, the first two weeks of February barely reached an average temperature above freezing. The lowest nighttime temperature clocked in at 5 degrees Feb. 10. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, people experiencing homelessness have a much higher risk than the general population of developing exposure-related conditions such as hypothermia and frostbite.

These conditions can be immediately life-threatening and may also increase the risk of dying from unrelated conditions in the future. There’s only one place the homeless can shelter from the cold in Monroe County: Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church.

Located at 915 N. Fifth St.,the shelter is open 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day, through March 31. The shelter recently relocated in the church’s basement, which received some necessary renovations.

“We’ve been in operation for seven years, where we’d set up as many as 30 cots across the floor in the [church gym],” volunteer Pete Mankin said. “We’ve even had people sleeping on mats between the rows in the sanctuary, until we moved down [into the basement].”

After years of planning and construction, the facility now boasts a spacious, home-like feel that can accommodate more than 30 people. Mankin said it was a vision of something great that came to fruition through the labor of love and kindness in their church. Stroudsburg Wesleyan recruited volunteers, who in turn recruited more volunteers, and it grew from there.

“We opened this part in the basement two months ago,” Mankin said. “[The church’s pastors] had long had a vision of giving a place for the shelter guests that made them feel like they weren’t just homeless and being shoved somewhere.”

Two men’s bedrooms provide 21 beds, while a women’s room provides nine. Shelter guests are provided a basket under their bed as well as a locker for their personal belongings, to help ease their load during the day. However, they are not permitted access to these items during the shelter’s closed hours. There is a storage closet with clean linens, blankets, towels, cleaning supplies and necessities.

A large kitchen is equipped with a microwave, refrigerator and a coffee maker — that is “always brewing fresh, hot coffee.” Shelter guests can prepare their own meals or have access to anything that is available in the refrigerator or left on the counter to eat and drink, such as fresh fruit, bagels and other available snacks.

“We even have a washer and dryer where they can do [laundry],” Mankin said. “This is something really important, because a lot of them don’t have a lot of clothes and so they can do their wash here.”

Mankin pointed out multiple bathrooms and showers, noting the importance and value of something so basic to most people. The large multipurpose sitting room is open for a weekly Bible study for anyone that wishes to attend or a place to just relax or gather. It also serves as an overflow for any additional sleeping cots if and when necessary.

Mankin, who has been involved with the shelter for four years and now acts as a co-facilitator, touted the efforts of the volunteer staff. More than 20 people are committed to the shelter’s operation, with some even staying the night on cots.

“As an example, on Valentine’s Day, one of our volunteers showed up with gift cards for all our guests. Members donate food, clothing, socks and underwear,” he said. “If the weather is really bad and schools are closed, we will let our guests stay all day and provide them with food or order pizzas. We have people that come by and donate food. This church is just amazing at giving back and helping.”

The fact that Stroudsburg Wesleyan operates the only overnight shelter in Monroe County is “mind-blowing,” Mankin said.

“At least [the homeless] have this place to come to,” he said. “It’s a shame that there aren’t more places for people to go to and warm up, especially during the day.”

Before COVID-19, Mankin said places like the public library or even the local McDonald’s would allow the homeless to come inside for a while. With pandemic-related restrictions, area homeless have no choice but to wander the outdoors, leaving them vulnerable to the worst of the Poconos’ severe weather.

Social distancing and masks are mandated within the shelter at all times. Beds are divided by plexiglass and shower curtains.

“The homeless tend to band together, they don’t gather at stores or malls,” Mankin said. “The chance of them getting sick or [catching COVID-19] is slimmer. We’ve been lucky and blessed where not a single shelter guest has shown signs or tested positive for COVID.”

The shelter guests come from all over Monroe and nearby Pike County. Some guests come from other states, many of whom migrated to the Poconos with someone and then became homeless. Mankin estimates that about 50% of the people who come into the shelter during the winter months transition into some type of shared housing. Many others become familiar faces that remain on the streets, living in tents, and return year after year. Two people transitioning into permanent housing recently was good news for Mankin, but welcoming four new guests to the shelter that same week was a dose of harsh reality.

“We’ve had some people this year that were never homeless before,” Mankin said. “They lost their jobs during COVID and couldn’t pay their rent. They ended up getting evicted from their homes and became homeless for the first time in their lives.”

Mankin said some of the homeless population work part time or hold minimum wage jobs that bring them a few hundred dollars a week. However, he says it is impossible to find an apartment in the Poconos and survive on that amount. The median monthly rent in Monroe County is just shy of $1,200, according to the 2019 American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau.

“We want to make it feel like this is their home, for at least the time being, so they can do what they need to do to get out of this situation and better themselves,” Mankin said. “Without a shelter to stay in, they’d lack that home base, a place to lay and rest their head or a place to come and start helping themselves to get their lives better. That’s what this place is trying to do.”