WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL) - The Waterloo Warming Center is officially opening their doors, providing emergency overnight shelter to the homeless.

After the polar vortex last year, a group of leaders and advocates in the community joined forces to create the center. They found homeless people were getting frostbite, and others were dying in the bitter cold.

"It would surprise many people how many people we have literally sleeping under bridges," Black Hawk County Supervisor Dan Trelka said. "When weather gets like this, we just want a place for people to come to stay warm and stay alive."

The center officially opened on Monday night. Relying entirely on donations and volunteers to operate, the shelter is housed inside the Jubilee United Methodist Church in Waterloo. It's sponsored by the Cedar Valley Hospitality House and other area service agencies.

The shelter is open to everyone in the community. People can go inside the church and grab a sleeping bag and a mat. Families also have the option of choosing a private space.

Trelka said they're making sure the center is safe. They don't allow drugs, alcohol or weapons.

"The Waterloo Police Department is coming by on a regular basis to ensure that things are going okay, but no body gets turned away in essence," he explained.

Black Hawk County Supervisor Chris Schwartz said there aren't enough overnight shelters in the Cedar Valley. He said it was time to step up and care for the homeless in the community.

"These are people," he said. "These are people who have lived lives like we have and that could be us someday. We are no better, no different from them. That's why no one should be out dying in the cold."

The shelter is open daily from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. until March 31.

Schwartz said he hopes by next winter, there will be a permanent overnight shelter in the Cedar Valley. That will require work between Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Black Hawk County.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The center is looking for volunteers to stay overnight with the patrons. They also need community donations to purchase supplies, such as sleeping bags and mats.

If you would like to help, you can message organizers by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/WaterlooWarmingCenter/

DETAILS

Jubilee United Methodist Church

1621 E 4th St

Waterloo, Iowa 50703