NORFOLK, Va. — The cold weather causes serious problems for people who don’t have a place to stay. The Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) opened its doors earlier due to the cold and changes were made due to the pandemic.
NEST organizers created partitions that are six-feet apart. The organization is only allowing 45 people to stay overnight inside the First Presbyterian Church.
Each person is let in one-by-one and they get their temperatures checked and asked if they are experiencing any Covid-19 symptoms.
On Saturday, Dennis Cross checks in with volunteers for his fourth night inside the First Presbyterian Church.
“It means I can come in here and stay warm. It’s a blessing," said Cross.
NEST Coordinator Urban Renewal Center Director Jordan Brown said the shelter finally opened for the season on December 2, 2020.
“We’ve actually probably taken in I’m pretty sure well in over the hundreds," said Brown.
Brown said Covid-19 capacity restrictions has forced NEST team members to find other shelters for people to stay in, especially during the winter months.
“The beautiful part and the horrible part about this awesome opportunity is word catches on, so initially it would probably just be two, three, or four people and that was back in December. But now on certain nights, we turned away as many as 28-30 people," said Brown.
Prior to the pandemic, NEST moved around to different churches across Hampton roads. The change came after new housing opportunities opened up for guests.
“It's allowed us to get with other organizations as well to hopefully ensure that some of these people will have a permanent place to stay and extra assistance," said Brown.
NEST organizers are also collecting clothes for the winter and giving them out to whoever needs them.
"Every night we’re giving them something and even some of the folks unfortunately we’re not able to keep, we have to turn them away," said Brown. "We try our best to make sure they have something to eat. Try our best to make sure they have the clothes they need," said Brown.
Brown explained volunteers and the guests are currently being offered and receiving Covid-19 tests. They'll continue to operate the shelter until the end of March.