In preparation for the colder months, MaineHousing has awarded over $300,000 to Alter L/A, Lewiston’s 24/7 warming center, which continues to work toward becoming a homeless shelter.

Alter L/A is one of 12 organizations MaineHousing donated upward of $2.7 million to across the state to prepare for the winter and rising heating costs, a recent news release said. 

It’s the only warming center in the Twin Cities open 24/7. It’s been a service for the community over the last four years in various locations across Lewiston. The center receives money from the city to operate. Last year it served over 700 individuals, with a 24-hour average of 112 people.

The grant money will primarily go toward staffing, Kevin Boilard, the executive director, said Thursday.

“The intention is not just to house them, but to bring them in, make them warm and connect them to stability and the structure that most (people) are looking for,” Boilard said

Alter L/A is the only Lewiston-Auburn organization that received money through the grant.

The center at 70 Horton St. currently operates as a 24/7 warming and cooling center. Boilard and his organization received a license from the city in June to turn the former funeral home building into the city’s only 24-hour low-barrier homeless shelter, but necessary changes to the building and licensing requirements have delayed the effort.

Boilard said they continue to working toward opening as a full homeless shelter. To check off the final boxes toward the license, the center is adding showers and a sprinkler system that Boilard hopes to complete in the next two months to meet the Nov. 15 warming center opening date.

A warming center is different from a homeless shelter. A homeless shelter provides temporary housing among other services, while a warming center is meant to be a place for people to stop in to warm up, though Alter L/A is currently also providing some support services.

Lewiston has six shelters, including one for youth and another for victims of domestic violence, but none are open 24 hours a day and have a low barrier, as Alter L/A plans to have.

The money from MaineHousing comes as the cost of fuel to heat homes is high, and Boilard expects to see more sporadic drop-ins because of it. People may come in if they lose heat in their apartment or are not able to afford heat after prioritizing other important costs.

“The assumption that warming centers are for the unhoused battling drug addictions really works against the true realities of the conversations where people have roofs over their heads, but no heat in their homes,” Boilard said. 

Boilard categorized the homelessness problem in the Lewiston and Auburn area as chronic.

Most individuals who visit the center do so in multiple stints, or for 12 months or more, said Boilard, who ran warming centers at other locations before Alter L/A. The average guest age is 52 years old, he said, and people can range in age up to their 80s.

Anyone can seek help at any point in their life, Boilard said, and he wanted people to know that Alter L/A offers more than just a space to get warm. 

Last year, staff helped 40 people get connected to housing services, he said. The staff also try to connect individuals to primary health care providers and help them with paperwork necessary to obtain government support or a job.

“Often, they are looking for it, but they are disconnected from resources and it’s hard for them to see reality. Our goal is to bring that vision back to them and bring their hope back,” Boilard said.