Blankets and bedding can be seen atop cots set up in the Lansdale Code Blue shelter for men adjacent to Trinity Lutheran Church in Dec. 2024. Dan Sokil
Training sessions started this week, shelter could open Nov. 1
As temperatures fall and November nears, Lansdale’s volunteers are getting ready for winter.
And anyone interested in helping at the town’s Code Blue shelter will have plenty of chances to do so, starting soon.
“We are in the midst of getting the shelters ready for guests,” said shelter organizers Mark Lanan and Leslie Johnson in a message to supporters this week.
“We have advised Montgomery County that we will be able to open both shelters for a Code Blue declaration on November 1, if need be,” they said.
In December 2024, the borough council approved the use of a town parks and recreation building at Main Street and Lakeview Drive for use as a shelter for women, organized by the same volunteers associated with Trinity Lutheran Church who have operated a men’s shelter there since 2009.
Later that month, county and borough officials announced an agreement to operate a county short-term housing facility, also on Main Street, and in March, both borough and county officials took part in a groundbreaking there; demolition there is now complete, and construction is currently underway, according to county officials.
In May, organizers of the two Code Blue shelters said 2024-25 set records by sheltering an average of 25 guests per night, opening 54 nights in a row, and over 100 nights total, and sheltering over 150 unique persons for over 2,400 total bed-nights.
For the upcoming 2025-26 season, volunteers will staff both the men’s shelter at Luther Hall, 1000 West Main St., and the women’s shelter at the borough Wissahickon Park building at 765 East Main St. Training sessions for the upcoming season will be held at Luther Hall on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m., and Oct. 26 at 4 p.m., with borough officials there to review safety requirements during Code Blue nights.
“After the Saturday session, we will get the two shelters prepared for the season. The more folks that help out, the faster we will be finished,” the organizers said.
Anyone interested in volunteering must, if they have not yet done so, submit their full name, cellphone number, and date of birth for a background check, and Montgomery County is offering training in de-escalation tactics that will be available online to those interested. Organizers have also developed an online Amazon wish list for anyone who’d like to help supply the shelter with food, clothing, or other essentials.
For more information or to assist, contact Lanan at (215) 272-4979, email [email protected] or follow “Code Blue Shelter – Lansdale, PA” on Facebook for more information.
Staff writer Rachel Ravina contributed information to this story.
