The Brookdale Warming Center opened its doors at noon on January 6, 2021, and within an hour, the first resident walked through the doors.

Its opening had only been announced two days prior, on January 4.

It was physically set up to from January 1-5.

The first partner meetings on what was needed to make it work took place December 29-31.

The first official planning meeting was December 28.

From December 25-28, phones were buzzing with texts, calls, and messages about the need to do something…discussions about what was even possible.

Because on December 25, Macon-Bibb faced a tragedy, one that ultimately lit a fire in an entire community to do something different…something transformative…something to truly help people.

Larry Howard & Manuel Foster.

Two men experiencing homelessness who lost their lives on Christmas because they were sleeping in the severe cold that night. Two men – not names – who have not been forgotten by the people of Macon-Bibb County.

“We took a leap of faith wanting to do what was right for the community. We got everyone involved and said in no uncertain terms we were going to do this,” Mayor Lester Miller – who hadn’t even been sworn for his first term when the planning began – says of that two week period. “In a short period of time, we were able to do something spectacular. We weren’t going to take no for an answer.”

According to Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Spencer Hawkins – who was tapped to lead the effort – his first conversation with Mayor Miller that Monday wasn’t brief, but the message was clear and direct: “Open a warming center quickly. What do you need?”

So, he laid out the needs for a shelter operation (a building, cots, food, staff, etc.), all things the EMA had spent years training the community to set up quickly. “We know how to do mass care operations…and how to keep people safe in dangerous situations,” he says.

“I know his passion, his heart, his work ethic…he was the first person I was going to go to,” says Mayor Miller of his calling on EMA to take lead. “It had the partnerships, technology, and systems in place to get it organized.”

But it would take more than a single meeting of two people talking to really get it going. Dozens of people gathered daily in person and online to discuss what would be needed. Multiple site visits to the former elementary school were made to figure out how and where things would be set up.

“The relationship with the Bibb County School District really took away our biggest hurdle: the building,” says Mayor Miller. “They were at the center of making this happen.”

In the middle of this preparation, the Mayor and Commissioners had their Inauguration Ceremony, and Larry Howard & Manuel Foster were remembered in the Mayor’s speech. A pledge was made.

“This is wholly unacceptable, especially in this community where caring for one another is a way of life,” the Mayor said in his speech that day. “Make no mistake, we will take decisive action, immediately, to protect our most vulnerable neighbors.”

The next day was New Year’s Eve, and one more in-person meeting was held among the partners before the physical work to set up the building truly began. For nearly a week, firefighters, Public Works crews, EMA staff, Commissioners, volunteers, school district staff, and more spent their time getting the building physically ready to open.

Desks and chairs were moved to the gym, plumbing was tested, cots were set up, the admissions area was prepared…and a whole list of more work needing to be done was created. Commissioners Bill Howell & Wilder even made several trips to Tennessee to pick up the first of many loads of donated linens, towels, and pillows.

“The more we started talking about this and people started doing their part, it became easier and easier. And our team grew and grew,” says Mayor Miller. “It took a tremendous effort by a lot of people.”

During the setup, Steve Bell was invited for a tour of the facility and to talk about the plans for the Center. He would then be invited to take on the role as its first Executive Director.

“When I came that first day, the firemen were moving beds into the school,” he says. It was a daunting task, but one he wanted to be part of immediately. “There was nothing like this in the community. I’m so thankful we could offer a respite to people who needed it.”

Monday, January 4, at 11:00 a.m., the partners gathered in the cafeteria of the still being converted former elementary school. They were the people who had been meeting nearly daily to talk about what people needed the most and what could be provided in a facility that most thought wasn’t possible just two weeks prior…but immediately saw how much good it could do. They had brought their entire resources to bear on making that day and the opening possible.

They were the people and groups that wouldn’t take no for an answer…all to make sure people could regain stability in their lives.

“Our entire community should be proud of the outpouring of support and speed of effort to find a temporary solution to this challenge while we work to find effective and sustainable long-term solutions,” Mayor Miller said at the announcement. “What we’re opening this week is just the first step in what we want to make available here.”

Two days later at noon, the doors opened to anyone who needed it. It may have just been cots and linens for the moment, but it was safe and warm. It was a space they could call their own for a time, and people were there waiting to help them. They could get hot meals, birth certificates, Social Security cards, addiction counseling, mental health support, a haircut, help with housing and job applications, clean clothes, toiletries, and, eventually, a hot shower.

“There was no soft opening, there was no ribbon cutting,” says Bell. “It was: there is a need in this community, and action took place quickly.”

Someone walking in on the first day, in the first hour, was an indicator of the need in Macon-Bibb. But before that person walked in the door, before they had that warm and safe place to stay…people and organizations had come together, and a building was made ready.

We were “filling a gap in the community, and [opening quickly] showed we had the capacity to care, the capacity to hope,” says Hawkins.

“It was a lot of hard work. A lot of people caring. A lot of love,” says Mayor Miller.

And by not taking no for an answer.

Part 2 – creating Brookdale inside the walls – will be published Friday, February 13.