MADRAS, OR -- The new Madras Secure Care Shelter is getting back to normal after the extreme winter weather. Just two days after the Jefferson County Faith Based Network (JCFBN) opened the facility on Oak Street, it expanded from an overnight shelter to 24-hour operations.

JCFBN Executive Director Tony Mitchell tells KBND News, "During an 84-hour period, beginning 6 p.m. Friday the 12th and ending this past Tuesday, I would say that we served probably 25-30 different people; possibly more." He tells KBND News, "They are dealing with possibly loss of life, or severe impacts to their physical health." 

In one case, Mitchell says, a man came in with frostbite on his hands, "He’s going to lose at least a digit and parts of other fingers, as a result of being out in the cold without gloves for as short of a period as about an hour and a half, while he was trying to perform some work and make some money."

Mitchell says ramping up so quickly hasn’t been easy because his organization is small and heavily reliant on volunteers, "When you need to operate during extended hours, the biggest challenge is being able to really sometimes staff the operations appropriately."

He says they’re ready to do it again if and when 24-hour service is needed. But for now, the shelter operates from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.