Cold Snap Maine:Emergency Assistance for Unhoused

Across Maine temperatures will plummet this weekend. For many Mainer’s this will mean a few days of bundling up on the way to work and hunkering down at home, but for community members experiencing homelessness or insecure housing, this cold snap could result in death, if they are unable to find shelter.

From News Center Maine: “This is due to a polar vortex that will move right over northern New England Friday night into Saturday. The wind combined with the frigid temps will make it feel like at least minus 20 degrees on your exposed skin. The computer models are projecting much colder temps with minus 40 to minus 60 degrees from south to north Saturday morning.

Wind chill advisories and warnings will likely be issued for this event by late week. It's important to know that frostbite can occur on exposed skin in 30 minutes with a wind chill of minus 25 degrees. If the wind chill is minus 35 degrees, frostbite can occur in as little as 10 minutes.”

Needlepoint Sanctuary in conjunction with local community organizations and mutual aid groups is organizing this fundraiser for the purpose of purchasing hotel rooms for unhoused community members in Bangor and Sanford Maine. Additional funds will be made available for other areas of the state, depending on the success of this and other fundraising efforts. Funds will be used to rent rooms and provide other forms of emergency assistance to those at risk of exposure to the cold.

donations of any size are immensely appreciated and will go directly to those most in need. You can also help by contacting local shelters and charitable organizations near you and encouraging them to open overnight warming shelters. Local municipalities should be called and pressured as well. For more information and to be connected with an organizer near you for resources in regards to this please call [phone redacted] or email [email redacted]

thank you for your support, stay safe out there.

Needlepoint Sanctuary of Maine