YMCA's Allentown Warming Station is open to provide nightly shelter, meals during winter months

This warm November is promising to turn seasonably cold, with nighttime temperatures expected to dip below 40 degrees starting Thursday.

For unhoused people older than 18, the Allentown warming station can provide nighttime shelter from the cold. The facility at the River Crossing YMCA, 425 15th St., opened Friday and will remain open through April 15.

The city shelter can provide beds for up to 60 people 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., with food and showers included. During the 2023-24 season, it accommodated 287 people and served more than 5,700 meals.

The station is also the only place in Allentown that offers free supper for adults. Guests also are offered weekly health services provided by Valley Health Partners Street Medicine Program, Treatment Trends and Valley Youth House's Project Silk. The groups offer both physical and mental health services and resources for support.

The station "exemplifies what is possible when nonprofit organizations, governmental business partners and faith-based groups come together to provide community solutions," Kate Cohen, vice president of development for River Crossing YMCA's Lehigh Valley region, said in a news release.

Community supporters of the station include Allentown, City Center Investment Corp., Lehigh County and the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown.