Local shelters helping the homeless during dog days of summer

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Homeless shelters across the Tennessee Valley are full, mostly because of the extreme heat.

”We don’t turn anyone away, nor do we ask people to leave,” said Morgan Fox, Director of Chaplains at the Downtown Rescue Mission.

He says during the extreme heat, the mission sees more people every day.

“We are averaging between low 90s to low 100, give or take a little bit.”

That’s just at the men’s campus. The women’s shelter sees around 45 women each night.

“Especially now that Huntsville is getting bigger and traffic is increasing as well. We are making sure to keep our doors open at all times and make sure people can get out of the heat and stay with us.”

Even with supply chain shortages and inflation, Fox says they’ve actually seen an increase in donations.

“Weirdly enough, people are giving more, so we are not struggling, but at the same time, we are still trying to meet the demands of the higher volume of people… it requires a higher volume of food and other items.”

Downtown Rescue Mission is just one piece of the puzzle to help those in need during the dog days of summer.

“People have this idea that shelters here locally meet needs and then send people back out, and they can only come back when they need stuff. We are trying to make sure that our doors are always open. So that anybody who needs anything will always have a spot here. Of course, we are trying to partner with local organizations, not trying to be individualized in assistance but a group effort here in Huntsville. "

Copyright 2022 WAFF. All rights reserved.