Marc Miller, 60, often walked to the Florence Christian Church.

The staff welcomed him, brewed coffee for him and gave him shampoo and a towel to use in their community shower open to all. But, then his visits stopped.

“I’m going, ‘where’s Mark? Haven’t seen Mark in a while,” said the church’s communications coordinator Melissa Stephens. “Someone said — ‘oh, he died.'”

Police found Miller, who had been experiencing homelessness, behind the Big Lots building in Florence after a chilly April 2018 night that dipped into the low 30s, Boone County Coroner Missy Rittinger told The Enquirer.

“Not only is it bad to sleep when it’s cold,” Stephens said. “It’s life-threatening."

In January, Stephens launched Boone County's first emergency shelter to give people a place to sleep shielded from extreme weather. It's the first Northern Kentucky shelter to open outside of the four that operate within Kenton County.

The church's emergency shelter:

Opens at 9 p.m. on extreme weather nights.

Closes at 6 a.m. when guests leave.

Holds up to 20 individuals.

In 2019, Covington officials told The Enquirer they felt burdened by its cluster of homeless shelters being the only shelter service in Northern Kentucky. Officials from the region's largest city faced scrutiny over its proposed homeless shelter regulations which were revised and signed into law in February.

When asked, Stephens told The Enquirer she doesn't worry about something like that happening in Florence, primarily because their primary designation is a church.

“Well, we’re a church. We’re never going to be a shelter shelter,” Stephens said. “What we’re doing is providing an emergency response.”

The Florence Christian Church emergency shelter sits at 300 Main St. in Florence. The church gets a lot of foot traffic, Stephens said.

Within a five minute walk there are apartments, the Church of Scientology of Greater Cincinnati, a childcare center and a hardware store.

Florence is Northern Kentucky's second-largest city, home to just over 32,000 people. It was also the second most common Northern Kentucky city where people experiencing homelessness in the region had their last stable home, according to a report from the Northern Kentucky Homelessness Working Group. That group is made up of organizations that provide services to people experiencing homelessness in Northern Kentucky.

About 1,500 people experienced homelessness in the counties of Boone, Kenton and Campbell between July 2018 and June 2019, according to that report.

Stephens strolled along the perimeter of the church’s indoor gym where a preschool class had just finished a round of play. .

The gym is kind of a community hub, Stephens explained. She told The Enquirer how Boy Scout Troops practiced survival skills, Special Olympic and a soccer skills group perfected their techniques and others dribbled basketballs in friendly matches

The shelter opens on extreme weather nights, ones in which the temperature is expected to drop below 10 degrees or if there’s going to be a flurry of snow and ice, Stephens said. It won't be open in summer because a summer camp uses the space, Stephens said.

On the three nights it’s been open so far, she called the nearby library and food kitchen to spread the word that the shelter would be open.

So far, about seven people spent the night at the gym during three cold December nights.

The Covington-based Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky staff and other volunteers greet guests, distribute yoga mats, blankets, water, coffee, and, when it’s available, a snack. One staff member and two volunteers stay with the guests overnight, Stephens said. At 6 a.m., the guests leave, and staff sanitizes the room.

The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky had a hand in organizing the shelter’s first winter. Stephens said it all came together after a call with Kim Webb, the Executive Director of the Northern Kentucky Emergency Shelter.

“I said ‘I’ve never said this out loud, but I’d like to open our gym this winter,’” said Stephens. “When I said it out loud to Kim, that got the ball rolling.”

Stephens contacted Boone County, the City of Florence, law enforcement, the fire department, and their Main Street neighbors.

"We have had an amazingly gracious response," Stephens said.

Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore said the Florence Christian Church is an example of the kinds of partnerships Boone County needs to develop its "homeless strategy."

"I am very grateful to Florence Christian Church, the entire faith community and other non-profit organizations for their service to our homeless population," Moore said.

Anyone who wants to donate to the church's emergency shelter can call 859-647-5000 ext. 1 or email FCCinfo@florencechristian.org.

Julia is the Northern Kentucky government reporter through the Report For America program. Anonymous donors pledged to cover the local donor portion of her grant-funded position with The Enquirer. If you want to support Julia's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@cincinna.gannett.com to find out how you can help fund her work.

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at jfair@enquirer.com and follow her on twitter at @JFair_Reports.

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