Code Blue group seeks volunteers

LANSDALE » Now that a first try has come and gone, volunteers running Lansdale’s Code Blue shelter are calling for help with the real thing.

“Montgomery County may call Code Blue on Friday and Saturday nights. Let’s get prepared and start filling in the Code Blue schedule,” said coordinator Mark Lanan.

On Dec. 29 local volunteers held what turned out to be a test run for the area’s new Code Blue shelter, providing a space to stay for those in need when the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety declares temperatures are expected to go below 20 degrees. After more than a decade at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale, the shelter has now moved to a new site at Immanuel Church, 1260 Welsh Road, just behind the North Penn Animal Hospital.

Local organizers set up that site last week, but ultimately had no visitors arrive, and on Tuesday sent out a call for more volunteers who could be needed on Jan. 7 or 8 depending on weather. Two persons each are needed for intake shifts from 7:30 p.m. to midnight, two for an overnight shift from midnight to 6 a.m., and two for a breakfast shift of 6 to 8 a.m., as well as meals for each night.Those who volunteer must stay awake for their entire shift, and COVID precautions in place include temperature checks, safe distancing, available personal protective equipment and sanitizer, prepackaged food, and professional cleaning after each night.

Anyone interested in volunteering or otherwise assisting is asked to email codeblue@trinitylansdale.com or follow “Code Blue Shelter — Lansdale PA” on Facebook.