BANGOR — Multiple warming shelters will now be able to protect Bangor’s unhoused population from the cold this winter following weeks of uncertainty.

The Bangor City Council voted Monday to provide an additional $30,000 in general assistance funding to both the Brick Church and the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center, bringing the total funding for each shelter to $60,000.

“In October, Council accepted a $156,970.96 one-time GA payment and appropriated $60,000 to support warming shelters,” the city’s resolve reads, in part.

In October, the city announced it would be accepting applications for that funding. 

After applying for the money, the Brick Church and the Together Place were both set to receive half of the $60,000.

However, according to the city, the groups “expressed that they each needed the full $60,000 City appropriation to successfully operate.”

Without the additional funds, the Mansion Church would have had to cut services.

“We were going to make some serious cuts and limit the amount of people coming in, so now we’re allowed to work on getting some more people in and off the street,” said Leon Licata, pastor for the Brick Church. “The community was in a little bit of a panic, because they know how many people we usually have.” 

Licata said they can have around 70 people per night.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Together Place said this is the first time they will be operating the building as a warming shelter, and they may not have been able to open at all without the additional funds.

“We were pretty clear that without that extra $30,000 in funding, it was going to make it really hard for us to do this project and do it safely,” said Joseph Hartel, interim executive director of the Together Place. “We were, at the time, talking about not being able to. So, we’re just really grateful.”

Hartel said the Together Place is hoping to support 40 people per night. 

Prior to the city’s announcement of the funding, the Brick Church had announced it would not open as an overnight warming shelter due to a lack of state funding.

Additionally, the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter had already decided last winter that it would not open its warming shelter.

This would have left the Mansion Church as the only overnight warming shelter in the city.

Now, thanks to the new funding, there will be three. 

The Mansion Church began warming center services on Nov. 1, and the Brick Church will be opening its doors on Saturday, Nov. 15.

Hartel said the Together Place hopes to open on Saturday, as well, but it will depend on when their supplies arrive.

Leaders of both the Together Place and the Brick Church said they are still in need of food donations and volunteers.

Visit the Together Place, the Brick Church and the Mansion Church on their social media pages or their websites to contact and support the shelters or stop by in person. 

The Brick Church is on 126 Union Street, the Together Place sits at 2 Second Street and the Mansion Church is on 96 Center Street.