Fairview Community Church in Copperas Cove offers 24-hour shelter, food during ice storm

COPPERAS COVE, Texas (KWTX) - The Fairview Community Church is opening as a warming shelter for folks to escape the cold all day and all night. The church is also offering a 24-hour soup kitchen for whoever needs it.

Since Sunday, the center has seen about a dozen folks staying overnight.

Volunteers are all hands on deck to make sure Copperas Cove’s homeless population stays fed and warm.

“It makes me very happy to be able to give back,” volunteer Kodi Johnson said.

Johnson is one of several volunteers, who braved the icy roads to serve those needing to-go meals and those staying for a bit longer at the warming center.

“There’s people that need warm meals, so I’m committed to do it,” she said.

While the soup kitchen volunteers typically head home around 9 p.m., Fairview Community Church pastor Mike Harrigan has stayed at the warming shelter overnight the past two nights.

“I probably dozed off for about an hour or so this morning and that’s it,” he said.

Elisa Myles is a homeless resident who normally lives under a bridge in the area.

“You got to get accustomed to the wind because it’s cold all the time,” Myles said. “It’ll numb your legs, your feet, everything.”

She told KWTX News 10 that she’s grateful to have a warm meal and a warm place to stay.

“It’s more of a blessing for me to be here, considering my situation,” Myles said.

As the cold weather continues into the week the handful of volunteers are already busy prepping for the rest of the week.

The Fairview Community Church warming center opened for the first time during the last cold snap right around Christmas. Before then the closest warming center was nearly 20 miles down the road in Killeen.

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