Volunteer recalls helping launch Brookdale Warming Center and calls it a vital community resource

An unidentified volunteer at Brookdale Warming Center said she began helping after her church pastor announced the center had opened and asked for volunteers. "The pastor got up and said that they had opened Brookdale Warming Center then, and they were asking for volunteers," she said.

The volunteer, who said she grew up in Macon and has lived there most of her life, said she took up the role after her husband died in October 2020. "I was already retired... I wanted to come over here and do something," she said, adding the work helped her leave the house and connect with others.

She described early operations at the center's laundry area as limited: "There was, 1 washer and 1 dryer and we had to send out most of the clothes." The shortage, she said, made volunteer work taxing but necessary to meet guest needs. Before cafeteria staff were present, she said volunteers also helped serve lunch.

The volunteer said the experience has been personally meaningful and beneficial for guests. "I just feel like I'm doing something worthwhile... maybe making a difference in the people that are here," she said. She characterized the facility as a broad community resource: "The building itself is a community, like I said, resource center, all encompassing thing where people can come in and get help. All kinds of resources are available here. They can be safe."

The comments offered a firsthand account of the center's early staffing and operational constraints and the role volunteers played filling gaps. No formal policy action or vote was recorded in the transcript excerpt; the speaker's remarks focused on personal experience and observations about the center's services and atmosphere.