EASTON, Md.- At the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Easton, people can escape the bitter cold. The shelter offers a warm bed, hot meal and even puzzles. It is all provided by the Talbot Interfaith Shelter.
"We provide a place to sleep we provide meals, laundry service we provide shower service but during the day they are still somewhere in Talbot County," said Talbot Interfaith Shelter board member Jack Harrald.
The the small, cozy shelter has one big problem which is space. Volunteers say due to fire codes, this church can only take in five people a night.
"It's fire code, we don't have a sprinkler system and it does seem like a terrible shame because there is a need but until we find more adequate space that's it," said volunteer Edith Swallow.
The cubicles may not look like much but for the people who stay here it's everything and with the weather taking a turn for the worst, those beds have been full every night.
Harrald knows providing shelter for five people from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. is not enough and says there is a big need for a permanent shelter in Talbot County.
"One of the great mysterious is how big the demand actually is not just for cold weather shelters but homeless shelter and we are currently trying to work with the county and Talbot housing to determine that but the demand is much larger than what we are currently able to serve," said Harrald.
Those who fill these cots know all to well, not to take their stay for granted.
It is first-come, first-served and the shelter will remain at the Unitarian Universalist Church until Jan. 27, and then it will move to the Third Haven Friends Meetinghouse in Easton until Feb. 10.
