Agencies open respite centers, warming center in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - More places are now available for those who need to stay warm because their power is out. The City of Memphis announced three respite centers will open up this weekend.
City leaders are teaming up with the Memphis Office of Emergency Management, Shelby County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the American Red Cross and local churches to open up respite centers in North Memphis, Orange Mound and Cordova.
The addresses are listed below.
Respite Centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday:
- Dave Wells Community – 915 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, Tennessee 38107
- Orange Mound Community Center – 2572 Park Ave, Memphis, TN 38114
- Bellevue Baptist Church – 2000 Appling Rd, Cordova, TN 38016
Warming Center Continuous Operation Location: Hickory Hill Community Center (3910 Ridgeway Road)
The respite centers are a place to get warm during the day, charge your phone, grab a snack and get information about storm recovery. Prior to this announcement, the warming center at the Hickory Hill Community Center was the only government-run location offering shelter from the cold for victims of the ice storm.
Ursula Madden, the city’s Chief Communications Officer, talked to Action News 5 about how it takes a village to operate a warming center. “Our firefighters run the warming and cooling centers,” said Madden, “and our police officers provide security. Our parks team provides the buildings and opens them up and the rest of the divisions provide volunteers who actually staff them overnight.”
The City says 127 people used the warming center on Thursday, February 3rd.
Again, multiple agencies have agreed to work together to open three more centers starting Saturday, February 5th at 10am.
If you need a ride, call OEM at 901-297-1680.
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