Fresno Residents Tell it Like it is With Mayor Candidate Harris

New warming center sheltering the homeless during the coldest months FRESNO Ca. RH Community Builders opened up an emergency warming center in Fresno December 13. This warming center has 77 beds and house anyone looking for a place to stay.Katie Wilbur is the Executive Director for RH Community Builders. She said since opening they have been constantly packed.“Like all of the other emergency shelters that opened in Fresno the need was overwhelming,” said Wilbur.Wilbur said RH Community Builders focuses on ending homelessness in the Central Valley.In August a drug rehab facility closed down due to lack of funding. That’s when RH Community Builders decided to open up the doors during the winter months to shelter those in need.“If there is nowhere for you to send your mail, if there is nowhere for you to take a hot shower, you can’t go to a job interview with your dog in your shopping cart,” said Wilbur. “You can’t go to a job interview if you haven’t had a shower.”Jacob Thompson currently lives at the warming center with his family. He said a friend recommended they check it out.“A friend of ours came over here and heard about this place,” said Thompson. “They immediately told us about it and we came over here and got accepted immediately.”Thompson said it feels like home and unlike other shelters they get their own room with a private bathroom.But, it is better when we are all together because my little brother he is dyslexic and he sometimes gets scared at night,” said Thompson.RH Community Builders CEO Wayne Rutledge says keeping families together while getting them out of tough situations is the ultimate goal.“I think if we look at society as a whole, as a community, everyone wins when everybody has a roof over their head,” said Rutledge.This facility will be open to anyone needing a bed until the end of February.