Pop-up homeless shelter at St. James A.M.E. provides refuge from winter weather

Outpouring is the word volunteers used to describe community response to the pop-up homeless shelter at St. James A.M.E. Church in Cape Girardeau.

The church opened its doors Thursday, offering a warm place to wait out brutal weather conditions, along with a hot breakfast. With more donations coming in every hour, the volunteer staff has been able to provide guests with three meals a day, along with necessity items such as gloves, volunteer organizer Tamara Zellars Buck said.

Zellars Buck said the shelter's goal is to remain open through Wednesday, when above-freezing temperatures are expected to return.

"This is the kind of thing that shows what churches are supposed to be doing; what Christians are supposed to be doing," Zellars Buck said. "And it's happening. It's amazing how this community has pulled together in two days."

Zellars-Buck said fear and mistrust might be the reason why more of Cape Girardeau's 63 city-reported homeless people have not sought shelter at St. James A.M.E., 516 North St.

Sandwiches and bottled water sit out for guests at a homeless shelter in St. James A.M.E. Church on Thursday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"People are afraid of being churched or preached at," she said. "We're focusing on meeting the immediate needs of food and shelter. The fact that the first night we had one guest and the second night there was five demonstrates that there's a need."

There were five guests staying at the shelter Saturday, but volunteers said they expect that number to double by nightfall. One guest, Tommy Clark, said he plans to join the volunteers Saturday night when they seek out potential guests and make the case for them to come to the shelter.

"I was out there," Clark said. "I was wet and I was cold. So I can tell them from personal experience: These people are good people and they're here to help you in any way they can."

Volunteer Christy Mershon said the conversation about homelessness in Cape Girardeau has been evolving.

"Folks in need are becoming more visible and people are asking questions," Mershon said. "The church became the hub; they opened their doors and, within 24 hours, the community had given every need."

Hand warmers lie on a table near the entrance of a homeless shelter at St. James A.M.E. Church on Thursday.BEN MATTHEWS

Mershon credits social media for spreading the word and fulfilling specific donation needs in a concept she called the People's Shelter. She said the enthusiasm of the community and a tendency among young people to refuse policy answers is the driving force of the pop-up shelter.

Volunteers said an abundance of donated clothes in the small facility calls for more practical items and they always could use more volunteers. There are 15 to 20 volunteers now, working on site to manage the incoming donations, cook and provide for the guests, and be a friend to them.

Zellars Buck said the volunteers working in the "background," on the facilitation, organization and donation side, number closer to 50. She said donations were made toward the facility's utility bill and one business has provided lunches for the guests.

With snow in the forecast again for Monday, conditions will be hostile for Cape Girardeau's homeless population. Spreading the word through posters and personal invitation, volunteers at the shelter are hopeful more will make their way into the refuge of the People's Shelter.

Pertinent address:

St. James A.M.E. is seen Thursday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

516 North St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.