By Adam Swift Chelsea could be joining other local communities in opening a warming center for homeless people this winter. Malden and Revere have operated overnight warming shelters for several years. The city has applied for a grant from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities that would help cover the start-up costs for the center. The center is being proposed at the Selah Day Resource Center on Broadway. The Selah Day Resource Center is a non-profit organization serving the Chelsea community, helping families in need with food insecurities and individuals experiencing homelessness and drug addictions problems.
The grant application calls for the center to operate nightly from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., from January 1 through April 30, 2025. “The center will provide shelter, meals, and critical connections to services that will support individuals in transitioning to permanent housing and accessing mental health programs,” according to the grant application. “The warming center will be designed to serve Chelsea’s underserved, vulnerable populations, with particular attention to undocumented migrants and other marginalized groups. In addition to providing life-saving shelter, the center will connect individuals to essential case management services and resources aimed at fostering long-term housing stability and overall well-being.” Housing Families, in collaboration with local health and human services agencies, such as Capic and North Shore Community Services Navigators, will ensure that guests are linked to case management services.
Housing Families will oversee intake and work to connect individuals to long-term housing, legal support, healthcare, and other vital services. Housing Families has also operated the overnight warming shelter in Revere at its senior center for the past two years. “Revere has done a warming center for several years and it has been incredibly helpful,” said City Manager Fidel Maltez. “This year is the first year we have been looking into this setup, and what has really made this available is that there is a new grant available.” Maltez said the city already partners with the Selah resource center, so it would make sense to continue the partnership with the warming center. “It is really a very good model that we have seen, which is that we are going to partner with faith organizations … and hopefully, if we get this grant, we will be able to move forward with this,” said Maltez.