Westmoreland emergency services prepare as cold temps approach

As well-below-freezing temperatures approach Western Pennsylvania, emergency assistance services and cold-weather shelters in Westmoreland County are gearing up to help anyone who needs it.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania encourages people who find themselves without heat to call the 211 hotline, a call center, chat, text and web resource for finding health and human services help.

The hotline can direct people to warming shelters in the county, including Union Mission at 2217 Harrison Ave. in Latrobe, Welcome Home at 218 S. Maple Ave. in Greensburg. Both shelters are open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. The Grapeville Event Center at 2528 Newark St. will be open as needed. Call 724-523-5308 with questions.

The hotline can also connect people to other resources, said Jesse Sprajcar, director of regional impact initiatives.

“(Shelters) do like a little bit of warning that somebody is coming, so that they can have some of the supports set up, but if someone shows up, they are not going to turn them away,” Sprajcar said. “We try to funnel all of the calls and referrals for cold weather through 211, because 211 can do a lot of that connecting before they go.”

The two winter weather shelters have been a resource in the county for the past eight years, he said, and can help people looking for a warm refuge in more ways than one.

“Generally, if someone doesn’t have heat in their house and it’s not a that-night emergency, there are other needs (of theirs) that we can address as a nonprofit in Westmore­land,” Sprajcar said. “They could be facing food insecurity; they could be facing mental health issues, something like that. That’s really one of the strengths of the human services community in Westmoreland and really around the region.”

Sprajcar anticipates that the county’s warming shelters will be prepared to help those who might need an extra helping hand this weekend.

“One of the benefits of doing this now for eight years is that the shelters are very well equipped, especially now that they are predicting it will be very cold,” he said. “Having the heads up, they will be ready. They’re very well equipped to handle it.”

Emergency warming shelters

At Welcome Home Shelter in Greensburg, case manager Halie Plows said services are available to people in a variety of situations.

“Usually, it is homelessness, but we have had emergency situations where something has gone wrong at their house, or some people traveling when it’s too cold,” Plows said. “Whenever it is really bad conditions and you can’t drive in (it,) we get people like that.”

The shelter itself, which also houses women and families, is full, but the winter weather shelter program is run separately, she said.

“The cold weather (shelter) is just from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. They can come in, shower, get a warm meal, and we give them sleeping accommodations. They get a bag filled with some snacks, water, hand-warmers and gloves, and stuff like that.”

Keith Newhouse, program manager at Union Mission in Latrobe, said his shelter has had 20 people use the winter weather services since Nov. 1.

“We actually, as a program, open up at 40 degrees and below. It’s still cold, and you can catch hypothermia at 40,” Newhouse said. “We also, as an agency, will help anybody in the community, whether they are homeless or not, if somebody needs a food box or just a place to be warm during the day.”

The shelter tends to err on the side of caution when it comes to cold weather, Newhouse said.

“We always expect to be busier,” he said. “Our kitchen manager prepares meals for our maximum capacity, and we are always making sure that we have extra cold-weather stuff and seasonal clothing on hand to provide to anybody that comes in. You would be amazed how many people only have what is on their back.”

Travel safety

Tiffany Stanley, spokesperson for AAA East Central, said 2.9 million people are expected to be traveling by car in Pennsylvania between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2.

“We expect to rescue nearly 900,000 motorists on the road nationwide, and that was before the announcement of the storm,” Stanley said. “Some people may decide to stay home, and some people may still decide to go out on the roads. We ask that you travel with safety in mind.”

In inclement weather, Stanley said, AAA recommends people drive only if necessary.

“Nationwide, there are about 2,000 deadly crashes during the winter,” she said. “We ask that everyone please be extremely cautious if you are deciding to go out, and if you can stand to make adjustments to your schedule or be a little bit flexible, do that, to avoid the times when there is going to be bad weather on the road.”

If motorists find themselves stranded or stuck on the road because of a crash or breakdown, they should try to get as far off the road as possible and turn their four-way flashers on before calling authorities or road service assistance, Stanley advised. AAA call centers and assistance will be available on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“One thing for sure is that we make sure our call centers are prepared and that we support our independent contractors in any way possible to prepare for the storm,” Stanley said. “We have someone available to help 24/7, 365 days, holiday or not.”

Helping out seniors

Carrie Nelson, administrator for the Westmoreland Area Agency on Aging, said the organization has gotten ahead of the game in delivering its usual meals to older adults who cannot leave their homes.

“We deliver home-delivered meals through our Centers for Active Adults…in areas where there are no Meals on Wheels programs,” she explained. “They get those meals throughout the year, and in the wintertime, prior to any storms, we send out a couple of emergency meals in case our van drivers can’t get to the houses or the centers are closed for a few days. It always helps to have some shelf-stable meals, regardless of whether they come from us or them.”

For families of older adults, Nelson recommends advising their relatives to keep some nonperishable food, blankets, and flashlights on hand in case of an electricity outage.

“In a widespread electricity outage, there isn’t too much that can be done (aside from) going to stay with someone,” she said.