Open to help community’s needy during cold months

 

The Ironton City Mission homeless shelter and the Lawrence County Harvest for the Hungry food pantry are getting ready for the winter months.

“We have a nighttime shelter for those who are homeless or displaced,” the Rev. Jeff Cremeans, of the mission, said. “We are open from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. every day.”

The shelter has 20 beds. While some nights it fills up, other nights it doesn’t.

“We usually get about 15 people a night, but it varies on a day-to-day basis,” Cremeans said. “As long as we have the available space to put them, we are happy to have them here.”

The Lawrence County Harvest for the Hungry food pantry is open from 9 a.m.-noon Mondays and Wednesdays.

“We had to cut back our services because of financial reasons,” Diane Porter, director of the food pantry, said “We would like to eventually open back up on Fridays and have one day a week where we are open at night.”

The food pantry is also trying to get as many blankets as possible.

“Occasionally we get them from the Christian Appalachian Project or Grandmother’s Gifts,” Porter said. “But we also take donations. No amount is too small.”