By Lindsay Perdue
Community members gathered at the Malden Warming Center to ring in the Yuletide spirit, with Maplewood Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Malden attendees dropping off presents for each guest. Clients at the Center received stockings with personalized notes and goodies.
“For Christmas Day, in addition to the 15 regular volunteer spots we need every day for morning, evening, and overnight service, we had another 9 volunteers come in to keep the Center open all day,” said volunteer coordinator Caroline Gaudet.
Now in its seventh season, the Malden Warming Center opened on Dec. 1 with volunteers ready to serve, just in time for the first blast of cold weather in December.
Located on busy Eastern Avenue inside Malden’s First Church of the Nazarene, the center is dedicated to providing shelter and warmth overnight to those who need it during the winter months.
“I just feel like giving back to our community and I can’t think of a better way,” said Dave Allen who is starting his third season as a volunteer. “I made a lot of friends here, and most of them are not volunteers. The guests are just terrific.”
Allen is a member of the Warming Center’s board and likes to volunteer in different capacities. One of them includes being a bathroom monitor.
“We log in every person when they come in and when they leave the restroom. We’re here for their safety,” he said.
The center can help 25 people each night. Last year, it averaged 24 people per night. Everyone gets their own space cordoned off with plastic dividers and four chairs lined up in a row. They also get a blanket, a hot meal, coffee, and breakfast in the morning.
“We’ve heard people say the food they get here is superior to other places they’ve stayed, and we like hearing that,” said Walter Demkowicz, who volunteers as a room monitor and cook. It’s his third year as a volunteer and his fiancé volunteers with running the kitchen.
For the first meal of the season, Walter cooked homemade turkey soup: perfect for a cold night.
The center not only provides food and warmth, it also provides services to those struggling with addiction. P.J. Bell, who is starting his third year as a recovery coach with Malden Cares, said he volunteers at the Warming Center because he likes to help people and is in recovery himself.
Dana Brown, the former Malden High School principal, is on the board of directors for the Warming Center and is starting his sixth season as a volunteer.
“The mission and vision of this nonprofit was just near and dear to my heart,” he said. “Homeless[ness], food insecurity, mental health issues, it’s just a great way to support people and give back to the community.”
Katie Dillon, a former volunteer, is now assistant director.
“I really care about this population a lot. It’s a population I think is really maligned and looked down upon,” she said. “We don’t often look unhoused people in the eye when we’re walking by them on the street. I just really want to connect with my fellow human beings and provide some warmth to people.”
Warming Center Executive Director Gerry Whetstone, who is also the pastor at the church, said they started this program to fill a need.
“There was nothing in our area that was here to help those that were experiencing homelessness,” he said. “That’s where the dream came from. I spoke to our church leadership and said we can house this we can make this work, and here we are seven years later.”
Whetstone added, “It’s made up of volunteers who have a compassionate heart. We have people that surround us that are people in need. They’re not a problem. They’re people.”
For Christmas, Pastor Whetstone cooked lunch while community members, Karen Buck and Scott Gilbert, provided a special foot care clinic to the clients.
Nanci Michelle Palladino and her team made a Christmas dinner comprised of ham, macaroni and cheese, garlic bread, and vegetables.
Meanwhile, according to the Warming Center’s social media posts, “the sweets just kept coming.” They received cookies, pastries, and apple cream pies from the community members.
“It was like the whole community came together this Christmas Eve,” said Kate Ray, the social media coordinator at the Warming Center.
On Christmas Day, guests also decorated cookie gingerbread houses, indulged in karaoke, and feasted on Pastor Whetstone’s grilled cheese.
“Christmas is hard for many guests for many reasons. It’s an honor to provide a small sense of normalcy and care today,” Ray added.
You can learn more about the Malden Warming Center and ways to help, by checking out its website.
Lindsay Perdue is a journalism student at Emerson College. Her work appears as part of a collaborative partnership between the “Community News Reporting” class taught by Mark Micheli at Emerson College and the Neighborhood View editorial staff. Updates on the holiday happenings were added by the Neighborhood View editorial staff.
Correction note: This article originally identified the foot care volunteer as Scott Gilchrist. It has been corrected to Scott Gilbert.
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I have volunteered at the Malden Warming Center since the very first night. The Center has grown and evolved, never wavering from its mission of treating everyone as dignified guests and being present when needed. The volunteers make it happen; the involvement and participation has increased multi-fold. This is the basis of community learning through giving. Thank you!