TRI-CITIES, Tenn. (WJHL) – As a severe cold snap grips the Tri-Cities area, local warming shelters have opened their doors to offer refuge to those in need. With temperatures plunging below freezing, these shelters are a lifeline for many.

Jeff Kiser, the founder of Shepard’s Watch Ministries, has been at the forefront of this effort. He operates a mobile warming shelter using a fleet of buses and vans. Kiser and his team actively seek out individuals requiring shelter in Kingsport, distributing essential supplies like food and blankets to the homeless.

Kiser’s dedication to the unhoused community began in 2015 when he joined his daughter on a school project. This project involved preparing meals at a homeless shelter in Johnson City on Thanksgiving Day, a moment that profoundly impacted him.

“My daughter and I had a school project, and we went to Johnson City and cooked in the first homeless shelter on Thanksgiving Day, and that motivated me to this moment,” Kiser shared, reflecting on the experience that ignited his mission.

What started with a single yellow school bus has now expanded into a fleet of two buses and three vans, which serve as mobile shelters for the homeless during both extreme heat and cold.

The ministry runs off of donations and out of Kiser’s own pocket with a team of volunteers driving the vehicles around downtown Kingsport.

“I started out with just the big yellow bus,” Kiser said. “What we were going to do with it was just run around town, pick up people and keep them warm. The Lord blessed us with a building on Wilcox, and from there it just expanded. Unfortunately, back in May, we lost our building. I had to make a makeshift building here at the car lot on John Dennis, but it’s working out great.”

Kiser’s buses remain stocked with food, water, clothes and blankets. Kiser also serves hot meals to those who stay the night on any of his buses. On Monday night, the ministry picked up 14 people and gave out 21 food bags to those in need.

Over in Hampton, Harmony Freewill Baptist Church began its warming shelter a few years back, housing anyone of any background who is in need.

“There were several people throughout our community who were homeless and didn’t have shelter,” said director Shannon Posada. “The Lord lightened upon the heart here at Harmony that we needed to be the feet and legs of Jesus, so that’s when we began the warming station.”

Harmony hosts two warming shelters: one behind the church in Hampton in their fellowship center and another Greenlight center.

The warming shelter provides beds, clothes, showers, food and even movie nights to those in need when temperatures hit below 20 degrees.

“We start preparing as soon as we hear it may be [freezing], and we get our volunteers lined up,” Posada said. “We get our food prep lined up, and we always keep staff on hand just in case something was to happen in an emergency. Our church is very involved, and so is the community.”

Posada works with first responders in Carter County and the community to help bring the unhoused to the warming station as temperatures drop.

Staff and volunteers provide shelter patrons with resources to help them out once they leave the shelter.

“We have the Carter Compassion Center, and we work with several different agencies that we will try to find permanent housing or get them on the housing list for apartments,” Posada said. “A lot of them don’t even have a food supply, so we’re happy to get them through the food programs here. If there’s resources in Carter County, we just try to work all together to make sure that everyone gets the help they deserve.”

Both shelters have found ways to help and build a community for the unhoused population.

Kiser said there are many misconceptions about the unhoused community, when they are just people who are struggling.

“I have older folks here that’s got a selection to make between buying their medications or their food for the month or getting them a home,” he said. “They choose to keep their medication and their food, so they can survive. I’ve got people in their 70s that we’re housing here. We’ve had all kinds of people with mental disabilities, handicap disabilities, just folks that desperately need help.”

Posada said, at Harmony, everyone is welcome.

“These temperatures are nothing to play with,” she said. “We don’t want anyone in our community to perish when we can prevent that just by opening up a warming station. Everybody has a past and we don’t judge anyone that comes here. It doesn’t matter if you are an alcoholic, if you are drug addicted. It doesn’t matter if you’re having family problems. Everybody has a situation that they need help in. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what we want to be, to make a difference in somebody’s life.”

Shepard’s Watch Ministries is open 24 hours, seven days a week at 2820 North John B Dennis Highway in Kingsport. Shepard’s Watch Ministries accepts donations and is currently in need of blankets, warm weather attire and propane tanks for food. You can contact Jeff Kiser directly at 423-579-2752 for a ride or information on donation drop off.

Harmony Warming Shelter updates its Facebook with dates and times the station is open. You can donate to the warming shelter on their website.