PITTSBURGH — Amid bouts of chilly wind, icy rain and temperatures dipping into the 30s, several dozen people showed up at the steps of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Smithfield United Church of Christ this past week in need of a warm place to sleep, according to our news partners at the Tribune Review.
An average of 25 to 35 people who are homeless — or between stable residences such as couch-surfing or living in tents or cars — sought shelter at the seasonal emergency housing option, according to Jacqueline Hunter, senior manager of homeless services at Pittsburgh Mercy’s Operation Safety Net. It operates out of the nearly 100-year-old church basement on Smithfield Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues,.
The annual winter shelter reopened Monday and continues to operate throughout the covid-19 pandemic as it did last year — though extra social-distancing measures and a 65-person maximum limit remain in place, Hunter said.
If more than 65 people need a cot or sleeping bag — with more than 100 a night being served during winter storms in pre-pandemic years — some will have to be turned away.
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