The Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry got some good news this week from the Office of Community Development.
Waynesboro City Council voted Monday night to ease some of the restrictions of their cold weather shelter when it is hosted in the River City.
In December, the organization was forced to turn away homeless individuals due to a lack of staffing and requirements by the city to have a certain number of people at the location to keep it open. WARM was able to keep the main shelter open at the time but wasn’t able to open the overflow location.
With the flu, RSV, colds and COVID-19 still prevalent in the area, staff and volunteers are sometimes unavailable to assist at the shelters.
The amendment modifies the guidelines to allow WARM to operate its shelters with fewer staff members according to Edwards, the acting executive director for WARM.
The changes definitely signal progress, Edwards said.
“It shows that the City of Waynesboro is willing to work with WARM when we request a conversation on restrictions,” Edwards said. “WARM hopes that this collaboration is an example of future cooperation between WARM and the city to ease the restrictions on WARM’s mission to serve Waynesboro’s unsheltered men and women.”
The cold weather shelters are offered in locations in Waynesboro and Augusta County through Easter.
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Crystal Graham
