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Urgent request

Dear Community, Since January of 2024, the Lehighton Cold Weather Station, run by a group of volunteers, has provided overnight shelter during frigid winter nights to our unsheltered neighbors. In the summer of 2025, this work expanded to a day program, offering shelter, meals, clothing, and showers, and – most importantly – consistent relationships and connection to critical resources. We have worked hard to form relationships with social service organizations, as well as a local hospital that is preparing to offer on-site medical services in… Read More »Urgent request

“Just get a job!”

We often hear from people that the homeless “just need to get a job.” We appreciate people engaging in the discussion and offering solutions but it’s just not that simple to “get a job.” Besides, the issues of insufficient transportation, and mental and physical health issues during an 8 hour shift, wages are too low and rental costs are too high. Setting aside all of the transportation and health issues, let’s simply look at the reality of the local wages to rent ratio. From a… Read More »“Just get a job!”

Why We Can’t Use Ebenezer for the Emergency Shelter This Winter

Over the past few days, many people have expressed surprise that we’re not able to use Ebenezer Church for the emergency shelter this winter. We’ve been getting a lot of questions, so we thought it was important to explain what’s going on. When we started the Cold Weather Station last year, we truly believed that a church could serve as a sanctuary — a safe place for people to come in out of the cold — without any additional zoning or building requirements. That’s why, before opening last winter,… Read More »Why We Can’t Use Ebenezer for the Emergency Shelter This Winter

Letter to the editor

Esther Meier, Cofounder of the Lehighton Cold Weather Station, sent a letter to the Editor of the Time News newspaper on Aug 03, 2025. Her letter was concerning a pair of articles published on the front page with her photo on July 28, 2025 (online articles one and two). While we wait for her letter to be published we are posting it here for others to read: Dear Editor, I was deeply disturbed to see my photograph on the front page of your newspaper under… Read More »Letter to the editor