Shelter from the cold provided by Montclair Emergency Services for Hope

With real feel temperatures nosediving to below zero, Montclair Emergency Services for Hope has joined up with St. Mark's United Methodist Church to give overnight shelter for anyone needing to escape the cold.

The service began Dec. 1 and will be provided through the end of March, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. when temperatures approach 32 degrees or under, the organization says on its website and in a release sent out on Friday, Feb.3. By 10 p.m. Friday night, the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees with the forecast saying it would drop overnight to 6 degrees with a real feel of minus 19.

Anyone seeking respite from the cold should come to the back entrance of the church at 51 Elm St., the organization said.

Montclair Emergency Services for Hope, also known as MESH, is a nonprofit operating on grants and donations. The organization also provides warm dinner meals Monday to Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the defunct The Office Restaurant at 619 Bloomfield Avenue. In issuing its invitation to come in from the cold, it also said that people are welcome to have a meal first and then head over to the church.

“I love that we get to partner with other houses of worship and town officials to make this happen for our most vulnerable community,” MESH board president Albie Monterrosa said in the release.