Kevin Boilard, who runs Kaydenz Kitchen, prepares coffee at the nonprofit’s overnight warming center in downtown Lewiston on Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star)
After the library doors in downtown Lewiston closed for the evening, about two dozen people trudged a few blocks through Kennedy Park in ankle-deep snow, waiting for a ride to the only overnight warming center in Maine’s second-largest city.
After the group waited 40 minutes, a black van arrived to make the first of many trips to the warming center, with the elderly and injured being allowed to board first.
The warming center is operated by nonprofit Kaydenz Kitchen from the former home of Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the sites of the Lewiston mass shooting in October 2023. The nonprofit previously operated out of Calvary United Methodist Church, but expanded support from community and city leaders, the warming center opened in November.
Unhoused residents wait in Lewiston’s Kennedy Park for transportation to the overnight warming center run by nonprofit Kaydenz Kitchen. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star)
“Without this we would be right back where we were; lying on cold sidewalk or cold grass,” said Floyd Young, one of many people who regularly come to the warming center.
The center provides a respite for Lewiston’s unhoused population after the harsh winter nights. But even if there is a place to shelter, these and other services can only provide a patchwork of solutions as the city still lacks a permanent, accessible shelter.
Before the van arrives, Kaydenz Kitchen employees and volunteers behind the bar prepare hot coffee, food and snacks.
As the first group of people entered the center, Tonya Sands greeted some familiar faces.
Sands — who also works at the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston, which provides food and shelter six days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. — explains that even with such services, the lack of permanency for the city’s unhoused residents can be grueling .
“People are not allowed to sleep [at Trinity Jubilee Center] because we are not a shelter, but a day center. And then it’s a lot of the same guests here and they’re not allowed to stay overnight because we’re a warming center,” Sands said. “Realistically, homeless people are expected to stay awake 24/7.”
For the hours in between, unhoused people find a gas station, an alcove or go to the public library. They will then return to Kennedy Park to be driven to the warming center after the library closes.
The Schemengees sign remains on the wall, but the warming center has been transformed into a relaxation room of sorts. Tables and chairs are furnished with board games; there is also a TV and a sofa with a Nintendo PlayStation. And during the 12 hours that the center is open, guests can store their belongings in compartments. Community members have contributed kitchen equipment, and local grocery stores, schools and businesses often donate food. Target provided a Christmas tree this year and warming center staff provided gift bags, stockings and presents for unhoused community members, many of whom spent the holidays outside.
“Merry Christmas… now go back out into the cold. That’s clearly not how the conversation actually goes, but that’s exactly how it feels,” read Kaydenz Kitchen’s December 25 Facebook post. “Dropping off more than forty people in the park on Christmas morning, knowing that we are going back home for warmth and family, is a harsh reality to be a part of. All we want for Christmas is 24/7 care.”
Kaydenz Kitchen recently received $2.5 million from MaineHousing to build the city’s first accessible homeless shelter, after years of municipal resistance. Once that project is complete, staff will be able to provide many services they are currently unable to provide, such as beds, case managers for housing assistance and access to emergency nurses, Sands said.
In April 2022, Lewiston laid a six-month moratorium on the construction of new shelters.
Linda Chagnon, one of the guests at Lewiston’s new overnight warming center. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star)
“One of their arguments was ‘if you build it, they will come,’ so they were concerned that if we just opened more shelters, we would just draw more people here to use them,” said City Councilman Scott Harriman, he has fulfilled that position since 2021. “But we already have many people here, local residents who need shelter.”
But with new leadership on the council, the city has come around. Yet barriers remain, including zoning regulations, and a local camping ban that doesn’t allow unhoused people to store their belongings or sleep in tents on city property. Several people said the police are issuing warnings, even though there is currently no shelter for people to go.
Linda Chagnon, who was at the warming center with her husband, said in early November that they “were asked to move our tent with all our stuff in it because we pitched it under a bridge and someone called the police.”
After the warning, Chagnon said her family will have to move the tent if they want to keep their belongings because it won’t be possible to take everything from a day center to the public library and warming center overnight.
Young has been working with social workers to find housing or space in a nursing home so he can have his much-needed hip surgery. But he said he is frustrated by the lack of progress and continues to use the warming center to stay out of the cold.
“Fifteen years ago it was better. It was easier to get an apartment and there was less red tape,” he said.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
