Salvation Army to open gym during winter storm

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The region’s only homeless shelter is gearing up for the expected cold weather.

Tupelo’s Salvation Army will open its gym to the homeless, or those without any heat.  The “Red Shield Lodge” is usually full, but the gym has a lot of extra space.

Staff have already prepared cots in case the gym is needed as a makeshift shelter.  Staff members will be on hand throughout the night and the next day if temperatures dip or if there is snow.

“We need to take care of each other,  if you have neighbors you know that may not have heat, offer to bring them to us, or give them a couple of extra blankets if they refuse.  I would hate to think that somebody might freeze to death because they had nowhere to go that was warm,” said Susan Gilbert, of the Tupelo Salvation Army.

The new shelter for the Tupelo Salvation Army should be ready by the end of February.  That will hold 25 men, 20 women and it will also have five family rooms.