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City Union Mission in need of donations this summer

Posted at 5:34 AM, Jul 25, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-25 06:44:11-04

During the hot summer months, the need for resources rises for the City Union Mission. Unfortunately, the number of donations goes down.

“A lot of people go on vacation and they think that the homeless situation isn't going to be as bad because no one is going to freeze to death, but the numbers actually stay high,” said Dan Doty, Executive Director.

Doty said during the summer months, the City Union Mission will serve more than 23,000 meals, which is comparable to what they serve in the winter.

And on extremely hot days, 90 degrees or above, the Mission will use tons of resources.

“When we can encourage people to stay in, we encourage them to stay in,” said Doty. “So extremely cold days, extremely hot days, we don't require people to leave the building.”

On regular days, Mission workers encourage people to go out after meals and search for jobs or housing. That means many resources won’t get used for the majority of the day.

But when a lot of people are staying inside during the day, it puts a strain on the already tight resources.

Plus, the air conditioner needs to run extra hard.

“Without air conditioning, it would be miserable," Doty said. "So we are grateful. But obviously that costs money too, especially in the summertime, so financial needs are just always there.”

Doty said on an average night, the Mission will see about 400 people sleep. And on Friday, with temperatures close or at the century mark, those 400 will stay in the building.

To learn how you can help the City Union Mission right now, visit www.cityunionmission.org.

The Mission has recently produced a coffee table book filled with pictures and stories from children, describing how they see homelessness. Proceeds from the book go back to the Mission.