Warming centers open in Bangor
BANGOR — Warming centers across Bangor are opening their doors for those in need.
For the third winter in a row, the Mansion Church on Center Street is offering a place for people to get out of the cold.
According to Mansion Church Pastor Terry Dinkins, the church also provides free meals and clothing to those who come by — thanks to donations from the community and hard-working volunteers.
“There is a safe place to come and be warm, and I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Dinkins.
Dinkins says that the church hopes to ease the burden of some of the problems he has seen in his 15 years of helping the homeless.
“I believe we have a drug epidemic in our city,” said Dinkins. “We see also mental illness as a large factor in our community, and also there’s not enough housing for everyone. So, I think those three things are key to why we have so many homeless.”
The Mansion Church is open to everyone from 6 p.m. To 7 a.m. every night until April 1.
Down the street at The River Church, a new warming center is preparing to open, offering help during the daylight hours. Pastor Mark Soone says the church hopes to fill a need in the city.
“We have a large homeless population,” said Soone. “It doesn’t appear that there’s a large segment of our community that offers a warming center during the daytime hours, so we figured we could step up and accomplish that… we just want to give back a little bit to the community that God has placed us in.”
The River Church partnered with Jericho Road Ministries to build the new center, which will open on January 18. In addition to a warm place to stay, people will be able to use internet, tv, and laundry services.
Both warming centers provide hot coffee and shower access.
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