Although most of us like to complain about how cold it is outside, few are putting more time and effort into this harsh weather than those who work with the homeless.
That includes Annie Fish, who you may remember I visited with about six weeks ago soon after the Aurora Winter Warming Center opened with her as the executive director.
Things in December were busy at the new and improved center at 712 S. River St. Fish had just put in a 14-hour shift helping to oversee about 45 men and a half dozen women the night before. And she was tired.
Not surprising, when I spoke with her again on Tuesday, Fish seemed more exhausted, and even asked for a short nap – by short I mean one hour – before giving me an update on how things have been as the Fox Valley windchill continues to dip below zero.
As we head into the second half of winter, the warming center has been open three times as many days as last year, which means “there are a lot more people,” Fish told me.
In addition, she and her staff have been helping other organizations “fill in the gap” as the need for family shelter continues to grow in our area.
Shelter leaders everywhere are quick to note they are full, there’s not enough housing and that resources can’t keep pace. The good news is that the community has stepped up, pointed out Fish, with dedicated volunteers and generous donations from individuals and businesses that have made a difficult job more manageable.
For example, in response to a request from those who rely on the warming center, the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center opened its doors so that they could occasionally take showers.
Part of our responsibility, noted Fish, is listening to the needs of the homeless.
That’s also the reason the warning center, after hearing that “encampment sweeps” took place in Aurora, hurriedly put together a “locker bin system” to provide places to store belongings.
“We want to be able to free up mental space, give them one less thing to worry about,” Fish said, noting how those who are unsheltered become even more stressed, more hopeless after losing all their possessions when these sweeps take place.
It’s another way, she said, of being able to “put ourselves in their shoes and listen to what their needs are.”
Speaking of shoes, when I asked Fish what the warming center could use from the community right now, she put men’s boots high on the list. And in fact, men’s winter clothing in general – think garments that can be layered – are in short supply and desperately needed.
Also on that wish list are more volunteers, of course – along with water, lunch supplies and cleaning products, she told me, then quickly added readers should reach out to all shelters in the Fox Valley to find out what they could use.
It’s been a rough January, after all. And, while Fish admits she would like to include sleep on her own personal wish list, “I really get energized” by the response from the community – from those tired but still faithful volunteers to the downtown businesses which offer support rides to the homeless.
What the warming center is doing is “crisis work,” which means at any given time in any given day, “I can feel overwhelmed,” Fish admitted. ”But I also have all those mini pockets of grace and hope that keep me going, including all those volunteers who came in mid-season. Their energy refueled my energy.”
There’s also those success stories that should warm each of our hearts.
For Fish, that includes a “40-something” man with a steady job, whom she described as “a great human we’ve been working with for the past two years,” and who recently was placed in a shared house, with volunteers buying his bed and helping him move into this permanent and safe home.
Fish credits “beautiful partnerships” to these happy endings.
“As we head into this second half of the season, I realize more and more this is a group project,” she concluded. “I want to make sure we put that invitation out to the community to be part of it.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com