LEHIGHTON, Pa. — With a winter weather advisory in effect, the beds inside Peaceful Knights Emergency Shelter on 1st Street in Lehighton are ready for men who need a warm place to sleep.
"The shelter opens at 7 at night until 9 a.m. in the morning. Men can stay there up to 7 days as long as they're working on a home plan, or rehab, or some better place than this," said Aggie Schoenberger, the founder and director at Peaceful Knights Men's Transitional Living and Emergency Shelter.
Schoenberger says just this year, more than 60 men have come through the shelter, the highest number the shelter's had in a couple of years.
"I saw a headline that said 20 million Americans are behind on their heating bills. I think it wouldn't take but a few dominoes to fall in a row which would cause very difficult times for very many folks. So, we are prepping extra to be ready to handle that."
With winter weather in the forecast, the shelter director says she's ready to welcome even more guests.
"In the past, during really bad snowstorms where the roads would get really bad, we opened up to the community if anyone needed to come in. So, the downstairs here would be for women and children, and men could stay upstairs in the transitional living, so we made that available," Schoenberger said.
The men's emergency shelter is open all year round.
Schoenberger says that soon there will also be a transitional living and emergency shelter for women just doors down from the men's location in Lehighton.
For more information on Peaceful Knights, click here.
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