WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Temperatures are expected to reach dangerously cold levels over the next few days.
Keystone Mission is giving homeless men in Wilkes-Barre a warm place to spend the night.
"Especially with single-digit temperatures coming, you can escape the cold to a point, but at a certain point, it's dangerous, so it's incredibly important for us to provide this shelter for them," said Keystone Mission Program Manager Scott Wills.
Keystone Mission has partnered with the City of Wilkes-Barre to provide the shelter when the city issues a Code Blue. That's activated when temperatures dip to 20 degrees or lower.
Wills says this is the first winter the Code Blue shelter has been used at this location since opening its doors in July.
"This building was being renovated last year, so the renovation is complete. We are running a long-term program to get homeless men off the streets and stabilized and housed. So, since this has been opened, we have been able to use the downstairs for a Code Blue shelter," said Wills.
The space can host 20 men per night. So far this winter, people are utilizing the resource.
The shelter will stay open for a couple more days under the Code Blue until February 4, opening at 9 p.m. and closing at 7 a.m. the following morning.
"We've only opened a few times this winter since it's been so mild, but we do have a cold stretch, so we will be open through (February) 4th currently," said Wills.
The city of Wilkes-Barre will also alert the public of a Code Blue with a blue light located in Public Square. The shelter is located at 290 Parkview Circle.
A Code Blue has also been issued in Scranton for Friday, February 3, 2023, and Saturday, February 4, 2023.
Weston Field House, located at 982 Providence Road in Scranton, will be open as a shelter from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and will be run by Keystone Mission.
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