Lifebridge Offers Life Saving Services During Record Breaking Storm

Photo by Zac Durant

PRESS RELEASE – 1/26/26

SALEM, Mass. – The weather that hit the North Shore over the past few days isn’t your typical New England storm: it’s a deadly combination of bitter cold, a lot of snow, and bad timing. When a storm comes on a weekend, organizations have less staff and auxiliary services aren’t open, so people without housing have nowhere to go. This storm is also happening at the end of the month, when many people’s social security runs out. If a person experiencing street homelessness is on social security, they may get a hotel room if a storm comes on the second or third of the month. But when a storm hits at the end of the month, they have to seek other shelter options.

North of Boston, Lifebridge North Shore is the main service hub for people experiencing homelessness during these extreme weather events. “It’s not business as usual, but we have a lot of experience keeping people safe during winter storms,” says Jason Etheridge, Lifebridge President. “For three or four days, we can’t get caught up in our bigger mission to end homelessness. We transition from helping people get an ID, a hot meal, or access to additional resources to making sure people don’t freeze to death. We have to be creative enough, and nimble enough, to pivot.”

In addition to shifting their focus, this storm led to a spike in numbers served. “Looking just at Salem, we would normally serve around 100 people on any given night. In the winter, we may see around 160 people. Over the weekend, we eclipsed 200 a night – over twice as many as we’re used to,” Etheridge says.

Reaching as many at-risk people as possible takes coordination between health and non-profit partners and law enforcement’s Community Impact Unit (CIU). “Together, we identify people who wouldn’t normally come in, find a place for them to go, and then convince them to go there,” explains Etheridge.

Case Managers to the Rescue

The bulk of the work done during weather emergencies comes from the people on the ground: the case management teams. Since case managers create individualized action plans for each person who becomes a client, they know about the people at risk during storms like these. “We put a lot of effort toward knowing where everyone is,” Etheridge says. “We ask, ‘Who haven’t we seen tonight? Where haven’t we been? What time of month is it?’ Well, we know that Joe would usually get a hotel room, but it’s the end of the month, so he can’t afford it. Now we need to find Joe and at least let him know he can stay at Lifebridge. Or maybe we know that Joe usually stays at another shelter, but has a 30 day ban. His Lifebridge case manager will work with the shelter to see if there can be an exception during the upcoming storm.”

These person-centered solutions fall on case managers’ knowledge of the individuals they serve and the trust they’ve built with clients over time. “A lot of clients don’t want people to know where they are, so without that trust there’s no way to get them to safety,” Etheridge explains.

A Limited Number of Warming Centers on the North Shore

Emergency weather events like the storm this weekend illustrate the need for more infrastructure to support people experiencing street homelessness. “If we go too much over capacity, we will have to turn people away.” Etheridge laments. “We need more warming centers that are physically accessible to people without unnecessary barriers to get indoors, but we’re in a moment where some communities don’t have the ability or funding to do so.”

Lifebridge and other non-profits serving this population have also seen an unprecedented demand for services in recent years. “Ten years ago, we were thinking about reducing shelter beds and pivoting more to permanent housing. There just wasn’t a demand for beds. That is not the case today,” says Etheridge. “There are a lot of systemic factors that lead to more people facing homelessness, but the big catalyst for us was COVID. COVID derailed our progress, but we’ve been proactive about addressing the increased demand. Over the past few years, we’ve expanded our capacity and have learned how to respond well to what people’s needs are in the winter.”

Public Support for Non-Profits Throughout the Winter

“Homelessness doesn’t end with the year,” says Etheridge. “We have so much amazing support during the holidays, but November and December are just the start of the cold season. From January 1^st to April 15^th, we are doing our best work as the worst of the bad weather settles into the North Shore. The longer hours and higher demand for services mean that operationally, we have used most of our holiday donations by the end of February. That means we still have another month or two of cold weather left.”

If you’d like to support Lifebridge’s important work, donate here. Your gift ensures that everyone on the North Shore has a safe, warm place to go to throughout the year.

Lifebridge North Shore is a non-profit that supports homeless and vulnerable individuals on their path to recovery, stability, and hope. Lifebridge believes in the fundamental worth and dignity of every human being and is dedicated to providing access to essential resources. By offering shelter, housing, meals, and other supportive services, Lifebridge promotes safety and physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health in the community.