ServiceNet manages the warming shelter next to the church. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — ServiceNet's warming center has provided more than heat to unhoused individuals over the last four months and will run to the end of April.

It opened on Dec. 1 in the First United Methodist Church's dining area, next to ServiceNet's 40-bed shelter The Pearl. The agency has seen 126 individuals utilize the warming center and provided some case management to regulars.

While this winter was a success, they are already considering next winter.

"I've been on this committee many years now. There's probably only a few months out of the year that I don't talk about winter, so I'm always trying to plan for next winter," Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, told the Homelessness Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

"We are in this winter and I'm already thinking what's going to happen next winter because I want to be really clear, winter shelter is never a given. We don't have this built into the state budget. It's not built into our budget, so there is always trying to figure out where we get money, and then where do we go with winter shelter."

She pointed out that warming centers are "very different" from shelters, which have a bed. The warming center is set up like a dining room, open from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and folks are welcome to stay for breakfast.

"We are asking people to come in, get warm, be out of the elements," Forbush explained.

The warming center will close on April 30.