City Provides Extended Warming Center Hours and Other Supports for Homeless Living in Kensington-Fairhill
PHILADELPHIA – As bitter cold temperatures remain throughout the week, the City announced that it has extended operations at the ‘warming center’ established at Cione Recreation Center, 2600 Aramingo Avenue. Opened to serve individuals in need of shelter in the surrounding Kensington-Fairhill section of the City, the center is a part of the city’s enhanced Code Blue services. Scheduled to close at 2pm today, the warming center will reopen for evening hours at 10pm through 7am, beginning tonight through Friday, January 5. Weekend hours are Friday evening from 10pm through Monday morning at 7am. The center will provide hot drinks, blankets and toiletries to those in need, as well as mental health and drug and alcohol outreach services.
The city encourages individuals in need of shelter during daytime hours during the upcoming week to visit Prevention Point Philadelphia’s Drop-In Center, a day-time engagement center located at 2913 Kensington Avenue, that will operate under extended hours beginning today from 10am – 4:30pm, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:00 am – 4:30pm, and Friday from 7am – 3pm. The Drop-In Center provides participants with a safe place to find shelter from the street and become linked to social and medical services.
The following soup kitchens will provide meals to anyone in need with no restrictions or ID requirements:
St. Francis Inn
2441 Kensington Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19125
(215) 423-5845
Blessed Sarnelli
2739 Kensington Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19134
(215) 356-7551
St. Phillip’s UMC
718 East Tioga Street
Philadelphia, PA 19134
(215) 634-3532
The City’s homeless outreach teams will continue patrolling streets, urging homeless individuals to come inside from the cold temperatures. Outreach teams and first responders will also continually monitor individuals who are particularly vulnerable due to mental illness. The Office of Homeless Services is providing as many as 500 extra beds throughout the winter season to ensure shelter for anyone in need during the Code Blue.
The public is encouraged to call the Homeless Outreach hotline at 215-232-1984 at any time if they see a homeless person sleeping on the street. Homeless outreach teams are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The City is deploying these efforts to continually help individuals in Kensington-Fairhill currently experiencing homelessness and opioid addiction, particularly during these extreme weather conditions.
These enhanced services are a collaboration of the Office of Homeless Services, the Departments of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Philadelphia Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and the Outreach Coordination Center operated by Project HOME.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Please be advised that photography and video are prohibited inside Cione Recreation Center during warming center operations. Please contact Alicia Taylor at alicia.taylor@phila.gov to arrange interviews with city officials.