A line of people waited to get into the Montana Rescue Mission (MRM) emergency shelter on Tuesday eveneing.
Security checked everyone before entering the low-barrier shelter, which aims to take care of as many as possible.
“Our emergency shelter is a low-barrier program and there's very little restrictions there,” said Beatriz Villanueva, MRM development director.
Once through the door, they'll be safe from the cold on a night when the forecasted overnight-early morning low is minus 15 degrees Farenheit.
“I lost a toe to frostbite,” James Allen said about staying outside one winter. “It is what it is. You just try to live another day out here and make it go through."
Allen is a carnival worker from Louisiana and has been on the streets for 10 years.
“For somebody to live out on these streets, it takes a lot of mental strength to really understand what's going on,” Allen said.
Allen had been out looking for a job and was not let back until 5:30 p.m. into the shelter, which has been on Code Blue and is open 24 hours.
“If you're not part of our program, you're still welcome to come and stay,” said Beatriz Villanueva, MRM development director. “We give you meals and showers and like I said we do about 500 showers a week maybe more and so we provide three meals a day.”
Villanueva says the shelter will house about 100 and sometimes as many as 125 a night.
“It's a blessing that we get to be a part of something so important and just help as many people as we can,” Villanueva said. “That is our goal.”
Johnny Torres, his wife and 2-year-old son, are staying at the long-term shelter.
He helps at the rescue mission, and he understands what it's like to be without a home.
“I was living in a car,” Torres said. “Yeah, so living in the car, freezing and they helped us out and gave us what we needed.”
Others also appreciate the MRM’s help.
“It's good, it's OK,” said Martin Cummings, who is staying at the emergency shelter.
“And then I came here for two months,” said Robert Holmes, who is staying at the emergency shelter. “So, it's, it's a tough, tough deal. It's not to be messing with. So, it's my first time ever being homeless."
“They keep you over and they want to have rehabilitate you,” said Earl, a man from New York staying at the emergency shelter.
And Torres says the shelter has been a refuge for his family and brought on friendships.
He says the MRM helps keep everyone positive.
“It gives people hope,” Torres said. “You know, you don't have no hope, you got nothing. They get that, they get the hope."
