Kaymra Stephens, an employee at the House to Home Day Shelter in Parkersburg, fixes soup beans and chicken noodle soup for clients at the shelter on Wednesday. With temperatures dipping in the single digits and below zero this week, the shelter has remained open around the clock to give people a place where they can get warm. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — As temperatures have remained below freezing this week, the House to Home Day Shelter has stayed open around the clock to help the area homeless have a place where they can stay warm.

The area has been hovering around the single digits all this week with the temperatures dipping to around -7 Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service in Charleston.

The House to Home Day Shelter, located at 825 Seventh St. in Parkersburg, was staying open around the clock all this week to help many area homeless to stay warm when temperatures have dipped down into the single digits and below zero.

“We do what we do because we have a love for anyone experiencing homelessness,” said Anna Dobbins, director of operations for House to Home. “We are trying to keep people warm, fed and clothed in this extreme cold.”

The shelter has been having around 40-50 people during the day and have had 15-20 staying overnight, she said.

Some of the challenges local homeless face include some have animals that prevent them from seeking shelter in certain places, a lack of transportation to get around and a general lack of available housing locally, she said.

Kaymra Stephens, an employee at the shelter, said they have been assisting a lot of people this past week. On Wednesday she was making bowls of soup beans and chicken noodle soup.

“There are a lot of people on the streets with nowhere to go,” she said.

Stephens said there are people dealing with a variety of problems from addiction to the possibility of freezing to death. The area needs more resources to get people into housing and into substance abuse treatment, she said.

Another employee at the shelter who did not wish to give his name said there was hardly anywhere locally people can go to begin the detox process and the few that are available have limited space. Many of the local treatment programs in the area have programs that start after the detox process begins.

Some shelters don’t allow people in if they have been abusing drugs.

“That makes it hard to get people somewhere safe and warm,” Stephens said. “We don’t turn people away here.

“We love people where they are at and we accept them for where they are.”

They want to help them be able to get help, but they reserve judgment, she said.

However, this week has been about keeping people warm, Stephens said, adding the community has stepped up with donations to help.

“People have been coming through for us the last couple of weeks,” she said.

Dobbins said they have been receiving donations from the community to help those in need, including warm clothing, blankets and monetary donations so they can buy things people need.

“The community’s generosity has been amazing,” she said. “I know all of the local warming shelters are appreciative.”

“Belinda,” who did not wish to give her last name, was one of the people at the shelter Wednesday. She said the snow and cold were the things she has been dealing with as the recent snows collapsed a tent she was in.

Church groups have been through and have brought blankets, coats, boots and other clothing, she said.

There is a large need for batteries by a lot of the homeless to power flashlights so they can see and get around at night, especially if they are out in the woods and need firewood or just see where they are going.

There is also a need for hand sanitizer as a fuel source for burning toilet paper and other things to be able to stay warm in tents.

“Marshall,” who has been homeless for almost a year, described using toilet paper and hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol as a heat source. The materials are put in a can and lit to create warmth. He and others at the shelter said the combination can warm up a tent for a period of time, but they have to be aware there are dangers and they need to vent it.

“That is how you stay warm out there,” Marshall said.

The benefit is the materials all burn up in the can and once the fuel is used up nothing else can burn from it.

Many of the people at House to Home agreed this week has been the coldest it has been in recent memory.

People at the shelter talked about people giving them candy and other sweets to eat, but usually within a couple of hours they are hungry again. Some people have given them peanut butter and bread, and although it is appreciated, people said it doesn’t last long. The male shelter employee said there is a need for canned meats (tuna and chicken) and soups.

House to Home has traditionally helped the area homeless with basic day-to-day needs. The shelter has a food pantry with a variety of snacks, meals, and beverages; toiletry items for men and women; a fully stocked closet full of clothing for men, women, and children; a washer and dryer for people to do laundry; showers and restrooms people can use; computers and internet access; access to a phone; and shelter from the elements.

House to Home will be going back to its regular hours today as the National Weather Service is reporting the temperature is expected to reach a high in the low 30s. The shelter will close around 2:30 p.m.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com