Warming Center Partners Needed
October 21, 2026, 5:45 p.m.

KNOXVILLE - The Knoxville-Knox County Office of Housing Stability (OHS) is seeking one to two additional churches to serve as overnight warming centers during the upcoming 2026–27 winter season.

Following a devastating fire at North Knox Baptist Church, the congregation is no longer able to serve as a warming center as previously planned. OHS extends its heartfelt support to the North Knox Baptist congregation during this difficult time and remains grateful for its willingness to serve neighbors in need.

Despite this setback, the community's winter response continues to grow. St. James Episcopal Church will join the warming center network this season, alongside returning partners Church Street United Methodist Church, Cokesbury United Methodist Church, and Eternal Life Harvest Center (ELHC). ELHC's Western Avenue location has an expanded capacity, as its former Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue location was sold.

OHS is inviting additional congregations and community organizations to explore joining this life-saving effort.

Ideal locations are close to or along public transportation routes and have a large multipurpose room that can be dedicated to overnight warming center operations. OHS and community partners provide training, security, operational guidance, and connections to a broader network of community partners to help warming centers prepare and operate safely.

Warming centers provide temporary overnight shelter when forecasts call for extremely low temperatures during December, January, and February. These volunteer-supported sites are part of a layered winter shelter response that includes year-round emergency shelter, seasonal shelter, and additional overnight capacity during dangerously cold weather.

For churches, hosting a warming center offers a meaningful opportunity to extend their ministry beyond their walls and serve some of the community's most vulnerable neighbors. Other nonprofits, businesses, and community organizations with suitable facilities are also encouraged to explore participation.

Organizations do not have to undertake this work alone. Partnerships between congregations, volunteer groups, and community organizations can help share the responsibilities of operating a warming center.

Churches, nonprofits, businesses and other organizations interested in exploring a warming center partnership are encouraged towatch this short video, visit knoxtnhousing.org/warming-centers.html, or contact Katie McIlwain, Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships, at katie.mcilwain@knoxtnhousing.org.