People’s City Mission reaching double its capacity amid first snowfall of the season

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Cold weather season has arrived in the Capital City.

And with heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, the People’s City Mission is feeling the impact.

“I know we have well over 400 folks staying with us right now,” said Pastor Tom. “We were built for about 250, so we’re trying to accommodate everybody. We’ve got over 100 women, kids and men on the floor. If we get much larger, we actually are going to be in trouble.”

The first snowfall of the season set a record for the mission.

The nonprofit said it has never seen so many people come through its doors.

But despite the overflow, they are working to make sure no one gets turned away.

“We just try to keep it positive,” Pastor Tom said. “Serve good food, that always helps. We try to keep everybody well, keep escalations down as much as possible, and just do our best. But it is overcrowded, it’s hard to do.”

Pastor Tom said they are working with local churches and other resources to provide everyone with a place to stay out of the cold.

And for guests like Phillip Wylie, dealing with the cold is a challenge, but he said he appreciates all the work volunteers put in.

“Sometimes it’s really hard cause it’s really cold outside,” Wylie said. “You have to come and get your feet warm. I went back out to my van, and I stayed in my van for 6-7 months when I left here the first time.”

The mission recently finished its biggest fundraiser of the year, Starry Nights.

Pastor Tom said they sold all the Christmas trees, with around 100,000 people coming out to view the event.