LEWISTON — Maine’s largest capacity 24-hour emergency warming center has so far welcomed hundreds of guests in its first year and helped some find homes or placement in nursing homes.

The Lewiston-Auburn Emergency Warming Center, operated by local nonprofit Kaydenz Kitchen, will give way to the city’s first full homeless shelter in the same location come May 1, Administrative Coordinator Linda Scott said.

The 70 Horton St. facility has seen 725 unique guests as of the end of March and has averaged 100 people per day since its Nov. 1 opening, Scott said. 

Shelter personnel and volunteers have been able to help over a dozen people find a home for the wintertime, Scott said, and helped many others find placement in nursing homes or connect with mental health or substance use services. Nearly 60% of guests who have stayed for longer than one night have been connected with case management services.

“We’ve been able to help quite a few people actually and we’re not even a shelter yet,” Scott said. “We’ve made a significant difference in many lives.”

Shelter volunteers said the biggest downside has been feeling like there just isn’t enough room to accommodate all the people who need a place to keep warm, Scott said. The warming shelter only accepts those ages 18 and older. 

“We’ve (had) many phone calls where there have been folks with families or young children who we weren’t able to accommodate, and that’s an unfortunate thing,” Scott said.

Most guests have come from the Lewiston-Auburn area, but many have come from outside Androscoggin County due to hospital and jail discharges. Released from those places with nowhere else to go, Scott said, they ended up at the warming shelter.

“We have helped countless get back to their communities,” she said.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said he is grateful for the work of the warming center staff and for their service to the community.

“The warming center has made a difference for the unhoused in our city and also helped relieve a lot of strain on businesses in our downtown,” Sheline said.

With the prices of commodities rising, people are struggling more than ever it seems, Scott said. Many, priced out of apartments they’ve had for years, are beginning to turn to shelters, a stark reality that should impress upon people that services like this don’t exist just anywhere. 

“When people feel like there’s somebody there to support them and give them the help that they need, they are much more confident and willing to go out and do the things that they need to do,” Scott said. “When you can’t take a shower every day, you don’t have a safe place to lay your head, it’s very hard to say ‘Today, I’m going to find that job.’ With a place like ours, a place they can call home for a short period of time … it can make all the difference in the world.”

Scott said the shelter is already getting people into a data base for future services through the homeless shelter, including housing and case management. The building allows for more space to be able to connect people to the services that can be provided onsite.

“We’re hoping to start a work program with our guests,” Scott said. “We’re going to get them out in the neighborhood and we’re going to have them do volunteer hours to pick up not only on our property, but around the whole neighborhood. … It also helps our guests have a sense of responsibility and working and belonging. We can help them use that for resumes and getting a job. We’re going to be doing all those things.”

Many warming center guests have displayed an awesome sense of ownership, she said, from helping clear walkways, driveways and paths through the snow to picking up trash and helping move and process donations. 

“They’re the first ones to jump up and say, ‘Do you need help with that?'” Scott said. “It’s been pretty amazing what we’ve been able to build in here and I think it’s a sense of security, it’s a sense of place. I absolutely think it’s a sign of things to come with the homeless shelter … only we’re going to be able to do more.”

Kaydenz Kitchen will go before the Lewiston Planning Board Monday for a change of use permit and conditional use permit related to the full homeless shelter. The shelter will go before the City Council on April 21 for licensing approval.