02/10/2026
💙 Price Hall Warming Center:
Why the Need Is Ongoing
From: CEO Curtisa Goodwin,
& COO Katina Strauch
The Price Hall Warming Center has been an eye-opening experience—even for me, after 26 years in the housing profession. I have seen and heard stories from the participants we serve that stay with you. This Center is more than what it appears on the surface.
Price Hall provides a clean, warm, and welcoming place where people can socialize, rest in peace, enjoy a hot meal every night, watch TV, charge their phones, and simply feel human again. It’s a place of dignity and safety.
Every evening around 4:45 PM, we begin to see people lining up at the door. Why? Because at 5:30 PM, we open, greet them, ask about their day—and they ask, respectfully, what’s on the menu.
Last night, dinner was homemade Chicken Alfredo with broccoli and garlic bread. I made enough that many had two to four servings. Their excitement fuels those of us who give our time away from our own families to be here. As they came in, we had 35–40 individuals visit. Some stay the night; others stop in just to get warm and eat before heading back out.
We will be closed tonight. Maintenance will conduct a deep clean. Yet in the corner is a table of folded blankets belonging to participants who anticipate coming back!
And there are real success stories.
Just yesterday, one young man told us he wanted to get clean. We helped get him into a rehab facility. Another participant had her résumé in her bag when a job opening became available. It was impressive. We began the hiring process—and now she and her family are employed and no longer part of the homeless population.
In a previous partnership, several participants were placed into rehab. When transportation wasn’t available, our COO and I personally drove them. One of those individuals still contacts us regularly with updates on her continued success.
Why Donations Matter
The need never stops.
• The socks you donated helped someone last night whose bike was stolen and whose feet were blistered from walking in wet shoes.
• The blankets you give provide warmth after long days in the cold.
• The clothes help people who literally have only what they’re wearing.
• The food ensures we can keep serving hot meals.
• And monetary donations allow the Center itself to stay open.
*There is a common misconception that Price Hall receives government funding. It does not.*
Price Hall is a self-sustaining building under the AHDC III arm of MHA. It receives no government funding or subsidy of any kind. It normally sits vacant. Opening the Warming Center has significantly increased utility costs, and our CFO works strategically within very limited means to keep it operating.
We cannot sustain food or operations without donations. We rely on support from partners like The New Norm, Chariots of Fire, Second Harvest, and many generous individuals. Much of what is provided—food, supplies, and essentials—has also come directly out of pocket from myself and Katina.
The $500 donation we received was placed back into AHDC III (Affordable Housing Development Corporation III), which is why we ask that any monetary donations be designated specifically to AHDC III for Price Hall.
Why We Keep Going
We are passionate about this Center. We stepped out on faith and became something very important to the community we serve.
Dropping off prepared meals means the world—not just to participants, but to us. It gives us more time to care for them. They are so deserving of the things many of us take for granted each day, and we want to continue to have the ability to provide them.
We thank the three committed volunteers who have made this all possible. Without them, this Center could not function.
And to our community: thank you for believing in this mission, for supporting it, and for helping us keep the doors open. 💙
