The recent winter weather is leaving some people searching for a place to stay warm. Officials with the Women's Help Center in Johnstown said there is a shortage of beds for those needing them, especially now with the winter weather.
Executive director at the Women’s Help Center Roxann Tyger said, “Especially with the cold weather in November we really started to see things start to spike, but we are working to help really anyone that's experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness in Cambria County.”
Tyger said the help center used to be focused on providing housing for women and children that are victims of domestic abuse but found a large need with homelessness. She said they do still try taking in domestic abuse victims, but now with a new branch called the Community Help Center are looking into homelessness.
“We were finding that about half the calls that we were getting were from women who were just experiencing homelessness and that's what really got us thinking that this has to be a bigger need than what we initially thought it was,” Tyger said.
Officials said there are 27 beds at the help center, but they provide shelter to an average of about 75 people a month and take over 50 calls a day from people looking for housing resources.
“I needed the help badly,” Wonda Staton, one person staying at the Women's Help Center said. “I was living in my car actually. It was the last bed, they told me to come on and it was the best thing that ever happened for me.”
They said the help center is the only shelter in Cambria County and there is a need for more.
It's not just in Cambria County that finding a place to stay can be difficult for the homeless. The Out of the Cold shelter in Centre County said it is full and has been for a while.
It is best to contact the help center before ending up homeless if possible according to Tyger.
"If someone calls us and they're truly homeless we're not going to let them just stay on the street and not have a place to live," Tyger said. "We'll work with them no matter who they are and try to find them a safe place to stay."
Tyger said the best way to contact the help center is calling (814) 536-5361. You can also visit their website.
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