Montclair Emergency Services of Hope, (MESH), is making an urgent appeal to the community to donate. With temperatures dropping, the shelter has run at full capacity.
“We do this emergency service on behalf of the people of Montclair and especially on behalf of the houses of worship,” Rev. Canon Wade Renn, founder of MESH said. “The severity of this winter season has caused our own emergency crisis of funding. And we still need to continue providing respite,” he continued.
For the last 20 years, MESH has provided warming centers, overnight shelter and hot meals for unhoused individuals. Currently, due to the unexpected number of freezing nights this year, the cost of MESH’s responsibility for providing respite has depleted their budget going forward. MESH’s respite is currently at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church and their MESH cafe is located at 619 Bloomfield Ave., where they serve meals every day from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. They also offer clothes and toiletries for guests and use of a washer and dryer.
When their overnight shelter opens, staff is there from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to serve the residents. Ideally, the shelter had hoped to open from November 15 through April 1 to accommodate overnight guests, but due to funding, they are only able to open on days when temperatures are extreme. Essex County has called multiple Code Blue days since last month, requiring a “network of warming stations operated by the county and its municipalities to be open. Albie Monterrosa, president of MESH, said that Code Blue for MESH and their guests is any temperature.
“The guests say to me, ‘You try to sleep out in the elements for 24 hours no matter what weather it is, but especially if it is getting cold,’ ” he said. “We’re just happy we’re able to give our guests a warm night’s sleep. We’re happy that they’re able to actually rest.”
Many of the overnight guests at MESH stay until Toni’s Kitchen or the Salvation Army opens for them to receive their next meal, Monterrosa said. In the meantime, guests are provided with warm drinks and snacks to hold them over. Monterrosa said it costs $1,000 per night to run the shelter and they are currently in a crisis. Monterrosa hopes MESH can secure funding to at least open when temperatures are 32 degrees and under.
Monterrosa is hopeful Montclair residents and those in surrounding communities will do their part to aid in MESH’ s mission to provide for unhoused individuals. “It’s out of sight, out of mind for a lot of people until they realize the true need. Then they step up and they do the right thing,” he said.
MESH doesn’t only serve individuals from Montclair. Monterrosa said people come from Bloomfield, Paterson, Newark and the Oranges for refuge from the cold.
“There are people out on the streets who are within a mile from the comfort of our homes. We have people who are sleeping on the streets, side of buildings, at the train station, at bank vestibules and that’s really a mile from our homes,” he said.
To donate to MESH, visit here or send a check to MESH, P.O. Box 1919, Montclair, NJ 07042 and make checks payable to MESH, Inc.