A volunteer-driven mission has opened at a new location under a new name to meet the needs of the homeless population in Lehighton.

The Lehighton Cold Weather Station opened its doors on Sunday in the basement of the Ebenezer United Methodist Church at the corner of Third and South streets across from the Lehighton Police Station and Lehighton Fire Department.

The Lehighton Cold Weather Station is a coalition of churches under the support of St. Vincent de Paul Society of SS. Peter & Paul in Lehighton.

Nancy Berchtold, officer of St. Vincent de Paul Society of SS Peter & Paul in Lehighton, said a prayer group began at 5 p.m., while the homeless were welcomed for dinner at 6 p.m.

Berchtold said they had eight homeless people stay over night, three of whom they didn’t serve last year. They have about a dozen cots available.

“We’ve worked so hard to transform that room in just a couple weeks time,” she said. “We saw this was coming; we had no place at that point.”

Berchtold said that St. Peter’s Community Resource Center, 177 Main Road, in Lehighton, which housed the homeless population of Lehighton last year, is now using that space for other purposes.

She said Ebenezer Methodist Church is now closed and its small congregation has joined Bethany EC Church and Ben Salem United Church of Christ.

“They had this empty building, said we can help with heat and utilities and see how things go,” Berchtold said. “They were happy to give us that space (which had been used for Narcotics Anonymous).”

As a result, Berchtold said they have the basement of the Ebenezer United Methodist Church available.

“It’s smaller than St. Peter’s Community Resource Center,” she said. “We just knew when we saw it, this would be good.”

Berchtold was quick to heap praise on all the volunteers who have come together to meet the need.

“We have new folks who have a passion for helping the homeless and the poor; we’re way more organized,” she said. “And there’s still anxiety about having enough volunteers about opening the doors every night when we need it.”

Berchtold said the basement of Ebenezer United Methodist Church is open at 6 p.m. for registration and dinner to the homeless when it’s 25 degrees or lower.

She said folks are allowed to stay until 9 a.m., “but our hope is that with enough volunteers, that we can extend that.”

“It would be wonderful to have folks come and be sheltered in the daytime too,” Berchtold stressed. “We could do this as a 24/7 anytime we can as long as we have volunteers who are not stretched too thin.”

She said they provide food, and added they just went mostly by volunteers and folks donating food items, but that they would love to have donations of nighttime meals.

“There’s just so much that people can do, and right now our hope is that we’ll be able to open every night that it’s going to be this cold,” Berchtold said. “We could use volunteers that can chaperon some shifts in the daytime and nighttime.”

Berchtold said an informational meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Bethany Wesleyan Church, 1122 Fairyland Road, Lehighton.

There will be an educational and training session on Dec. 12 at a location to be determined.

“Come and see what we’re doing,” she said. “I’m just so thrilled that we’re now just broadening the care and sharing the load of caring too.”

Berchtold said their Facebook page is now Lehighton Cold Weather Station, where there is a sign-up for volunteers, as well as information on food and staying at the shelter.

She said they are seeking more volunteers to chaperon, make meals, and donate to offer costs for heating, and are grateful for any assistance that can be provided.

For more information, call 570-657-6738.