Winter Homeless Shelter Program Comes to Muskingum County

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio – As colder weather settles in across the
state, those without homes are struggling to keep warm in Muskingum
County. Two area organizations have teamed up to help provide the
local homeless population with a warm place to sleep this Winter.
TruLight Ministries of Zanesville and Cornerstone Full Gospel Church
of Duncan Falls are working together to transport homeless
individuals from TruLight to the bunkhouse facility at Cornerstone
Church. Reverend Edward Swartz, with TruLight, says around 16 people
utilize the facility each night.

“So what we do is,
we open our doors at 7 PM for the homeless to come in and get out of
the cold. We usually have some coffee on for them; some little snacks
or something—nothing elaborate, just something for them to munch on
and stuff. And we also have prayer time going on from 7 to 11; so
people can come in and get prayer if they want. And then at 11
o’clock, what we do is we load everybody that needs shelter into
our church van and we drive them down to Cornerstone’s
facilities—and we take them in and we give them a bunk.”

Once homeless
individuals are transported to Cornerstone, they are given a bunk
area and access to shower facilities. Hygiene products donated by the
Muskingum County community are also available to those staying at the
shelter. Items currently needed for the program include gas cards and
snack items. Donations can be made in several different formats.

“They can donate
online on our Facebook page—we have a donate button they can click
that and they can make a donation online. They can bring it in here
from 7 to 11 every night. We do have a donation box over on the wall
that they are more than welcome to come in and place a donation in
the box. We’re also open for breakfast time from 8 to 10 so they
can come in and make a donation then.”

For more information
or to donate to the Winter Homeless Shelter Program, contact Trulight
Ministries—located on Putnam Avenue in Zanesville.