THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — As dangerously cold weather lingers in Thomas County, an area shelter is calling for community support to help them stay open for more nights.
- The Fountain of Life Shelter is the only emergency shelter in Thomas County and can currently open only four nights a week due to limited funding.
- Demand spikes during extreme weather, with more than 270 people seeking help last January, even though the shelter has just 18 beds.
- Watch the video below to see why shelter receives no city or county funding and relies entirely on private donations.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As dangerously cold and windy weather moves in this weekend, there's only one place in our area where anyone can go to get out of the cold.
I'm Layan Abu Tarboush, your Thomasville neighborhood reporter.
I'm checking on the Fountain of Life Shelter, the only cold-weather shelter here, and why limited funding means it can't always open when people need it most.
Open since 2019, the Fountain of Life Shelter has been a critical resource here in Thomas County.
But January brings the biggest surge in need, as freezing temperatures push more people to look for shelter.
Last January alone, more than 270 neighbors turned here for help.
But Dan Salveter tells me many still get turned away because the shelter only has 18 beds.
And beyond space, there's an even bigger challenge: the shelter can only open four nights a week.
"Since we're an emergency shelter, we want to be here. We want to consistently be open. You can't time and schedule emergencies. Emergencies can't happen Thursday through Sunday, and then you're good on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday," said Salveter.
Salveter says the goal is to be open seven days a week.
But that takes money, money they don't always have.
"Often we'd get a call from our treasurer saying, 'Guys, we don't have the money to be open tonight, and we don't want to ever be in that predicament again," said Salveter.
Most of the shelter's funding comes from private donors in the community.
That support becomes even more critical in the winter, when freezing temperatures force them to open extra nights even when it's not in the budget.
So I asked about help from local government.
"Before I was treasurer, the county commissioners did give us some money—a one-time thing, I believe. But this was...prior to 2022. And so, they said that they were not able to help right now. We have spoken to city councilmen as well, and it just looks like they're not in a position to do anything," said Treasurer Anne Pridgen.
Because there's little government support, the shelter says help from the community is what keeps the doors open.
"It takes a lot of work to run a shelter," said Pridgen.
That work includes paying staff, keeping the lights and heat on, and making sure people have a place to shower, wash clothes, eat a warm meal, and sleep safely through the night.
The shelter has a fundraiser coming up in March 28th: a pickleball tournament!
Until then, people can help right now by donating online, by mail, or by text.
In Thomasville, Layan Abu Tarboush, ABC27.
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