Cumberland County Code Blue now has three cities with shelters for the homeless — Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland.
BRIDGETON -- With the bitter cold closing in, the homeless in Cumberland County will have places to find shelter and warmth.
Code Blue is now in effect.
This is the first time during the 2015-2016 winter season that the program has been activated.
With record warmth during December, no shelters from the cold were needed, but early this week temperatures are forecast to dip into the low 20s, even the teens in some local spots.
In neighboring Salem County, a Code Blue effort is under way. Volunteers and the first overnight warming center has been secured, but the program is not quite ready to kick off, organizers said Sunday.
The Code Blue program offers the homeless warm overnight shelter and food on the most bitter of winter nights.
"It's not a drill now," said Pstor Rob Weinstein, one of the Cumberland County Code Blue leaders on Sunday afternoon. "Our volunteers are ready."
Those volunteers, all of whom has received training and passed background checks, will mobilize to staff the shelters and feed the homeless.
"Overall it is a positive thing for our community as it comes together to help the less fortunate and nobody dies because they were left out in the cold," Weinstein said.
Code Blue leaders declare the program in effect when the overnight temperature falls to 25 degrees or below with no precipitation or 32 degrees or below with precipitation.
This is the third winter season for Code Blue in Cumberland County. It began in the City of Bridgeton after a homeless man was found dead inside a clothing donation bin where he apparently had gone into seeking warmth.
The program now also has shelters in both Millville and Vineland.
In Cumberland County three sites will be open Monday and Tuesday night from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning -- St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 186 E. Commerce St., Bridgeton, hosted by St. Teresa Church/The Parish of the Holy Cross; First United Methodist Church, 700 East Landis Ave., Vineland, from 6 to 9 p.m. and then overnight hours at the Church of Resurrection at 8th and Wood Streets; the shelter in Millville will be located at Central Baptist Church, 9 N. Second St., Millville.
Weinstein said about 60 to 70 homeless are expected at shelters the first night. He said word about the shelters and the program will be spread through social service agencies, the police and the homeless themselves.
He said the number of homeless using the shelters to stay overnight or visit for a meal or to warm up for a few hours is expected to grow as the season progresses.
One new procedure in place this year is that each person entering a shelter will go through a security screening.
For more information about the Cumberland County Code Blue program -- how to donate or volunteer -- visit codeblueccnj.org.
The Salem County Code Blue Coalition just began organizing last year.
One of the coalition leaders, Ray Bolden, said Salem County Code Blue volunteers will meet Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the Salem County Autism Center, 193 N. Broadway, Pennsville. Anyone interested in the program is welcome to attend.
The Salem County group also has a Facebook page -- Code Blue in Salem County -- that includes updates about its activities and information on becoming a volunteer.
Cash donations for the program can be sent to Code Blue in Salem County, c/o Inter Agency Council, 98 Market St., Salem, NJ 08079.
Donations of cots, blankets and clothing can be made by calling Cathedral of Holiness Missionary Baptist Church in Pennsville at 856-678-6144.
So far, Salem County Code Blue has secured one warming center, the John B. Campbell Center, Walnut Street, Salem. It is seeking others in Salem County
"Code Blue is about keeping people from freezing to death," Weinstein said.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.