GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The bitter-cold temperatures can be deadly. There are many out there right now sleeping in the cold. A homeless shelter is opening its doors to make sure those people have a warm bed.
“They can come down here, you get a warm bed and wonderful people,” Richard Busick said.
Busick is one of the dozens seeking shelter inside Mel Trotter Ministries' overflow shelter on Division Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids.
“When I go up to Division, I look into doorways... it's horrible,” Busick told FOX 17.
Mel Trotter Ministries Senior Vice President of Operations Jeff Dashner knows all about the homelessness in the city.
He says between their main campus and this new shelter they’re often hitting capacity.
“It's just bitter cold, bitter winds, and so we're opening up our center allowing people come in and warm up, get some community and have the ability to just feel safe,” Dashner told FOX 17. “Overnight shelters anywhere fluctuate depending on the weather outside from 30 up to 60–70, plus spending the night here, and that's couples, women and men.”
People like Richard are incredibly grateful there are places like this on a night like this.
“Jesus, I'm extremely grateful to have a bed. I used to have everything my own doing put me here,” Busick said.
In addition to Mel Trotter Ministries, both Holland Rescue Mission and the Muskegon Rescue Mission have opened their doors and made extra arrangements to get people out of the cold.
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