STATE COLLEGE — Out of the Cold: Centre County is set to open its new full-time permanent shelter this September on South Atherton Street after final renovations are complete.
Out of the Cold is a low-barrier shelter open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every night.
“Out of the Cold is what’s considered a low-barrier shelter, which really goes into our mission. So, we believe that shelter is a human right regardless of the decisions that a person has made or that they’re currently making,” Kendra Gettig, chair of the board of directors for OOTC, said.
“A lot of our people have some form of criminal background, which is a barrier when it comes to finding housing or employment. As a low-barrier shelter, there’s very little criteria for who can and cannot use our services,” she continued.
OOTC is a registered nonprofit organization founded in February 2011 by the Community Safety Net to serve Centre County Residents. According to Gettig, the organization began after a man died from hypothermia while sleeping in a tent on a cold winter night that year.
“People started talking about how we needed another shelter in town. Those conversations were already happening prior to the man’s death and that just hurried them along,” she explained.
Historically, OOTC has been hosted in churches. Fifteen churches have participated, and the shelter would rotate from one church to another every couple of weeks.
According to Jordan Taylor, the executive director for OOTC, the organization’s mission is to care for the unsheltered in Centre County while working to make homelessness a rare, brief and one-time event. “What we’re really trying to do is meet people where they’re at and teach them the skills that they need to learn to be able to hopefully not become homeless again. So, we have case managers here that they meet with on a regular basis and develop positive, smart goals to work on,” she said.
The new permanent shelter on South Atherton will be able to accommodate 28 people. However, Gettig mentioned that there are currently 40 people on the waiting list. The organization didn’t experience such a substantial waiting list until the pandemic.
“I think most people don’t realize it, but we have a pretty significant homeless and housing insecurity problem in our town. I think for lots of reasons. I think the cost of rental properties are just so expensive that it’s really hard for people to be able to handle that,” she said.
According to Taylor, having a permanent location rather than rotating between churches every other week is more beneficial for both guests and the hosting churches. “I personally think it’s important for our guests to have consistency. They know where they’re staying. They know that they have a bed at night. It’s been really hard on staff and on guests to rotate churches. We’re so thankful for all the churches for hosting us, but it is a different location and a different environment every time, day and night,” she said.
Guests staying at the shelter will have access to real beds instead of cots, plus meals, resources and more, all in a single location. “I think it feels more like home and I think so many of our guests come from traumatic backgrounds that this is really healing,” Gettig said.
Gettig emphasized that one of the shelter’s goals for the future is to be able to open an overflow shelter similar to their original model where churches hosted, especially during the winter. “From November to March, if churches could host for a couple of months, then we could get people off the streets, like people on our waiting list.”
The location at 318 S. Atherton was previously rented by OOTC to be used as a day shelter where individuals were able to come to eat, sleep and utilize resources. OOTC has historically been an overnight shelter, but they added the day shelter aspect in 2020 when businesses in downtown State College began closing due to the pandemic.
“A lot of people come here during the day; they’re able to sleep during the day and then at night they just kind of wander around. They go to stores that are open 24/7 or they hang out at Sheetz. So they’re awake at night and then they come here and, and sleep during the day,” Gettig said.
OOTC purchased the building in 2021 and has since been working on funding and contracting to renovate the property into a permanent shelter. Volunteers have worked tirelessly to prepare the shelter. With renovations nearly complete, OOTC expects to open the new shelter in early September.
“We have volunteers that have been coming in Monday through Saturday and they’re only taking Sunday off. We’ve been reaching out to our board members, churches, online, all sorts of different organizations and groups that have come to help us with painting, cleaning, organizing things and building whatever we need to be built,” Taylor said.
Taylor added that there are still plenty of opportunities for people to get involved with OOTC. The shelter is looking for volunteers to help with meals, cleaning, interacting with guests and providing financial donations. Additionally, the organization has an Amazon Wishlist featuring basic household items for the shelter, shared on its website and social media.
A fundraising dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 at the Penn Stater Hotel will support the shelter’s ongoing operations and expansion. OOTC invites people to attend to learn more about the shelter or become a financial partner.
OOTC aims to foster community while tailoring care to each guest’s individual needs. The consistency and stability provided by a permanent 24/7 shelter will offer relief to Centre County residents dealing with homelessness and housing insecurity.
“I ultimately think that shelter is a human right and I think of how all of us get to go home at the end of the day,” Gettig said. “I think that our guests should have an opportunity to go home at the end of their day. They’ll get to sleep on a real bed here and they’ll get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the same place instead of going from place to place.”
