What is WARM?
Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry (WARM) is a 501c3 organization that provides emergency and temporary housing to individuals and families who lack the resources to maintain stable housing. WARM provides winter/emergency shelter to homeless adults and temporary supportive housing to homeless women with children, and community outreach in Waynesboro and Augusta County, Virginia.
Our WARM House is a social model-transitional living program in Waynesboro, VA that provides temporary housing and support services to homeless women with children. The house, operated by the WARM Board of Directors and staff, solely exists to give women with children and experiencing homelessness a temporary house, time, support, and services that will enable them to transition from homelessness to independence. The WARM House’s structure offers accountability, drug testing, mentors, peer support, case management, training, and community referrals. For some cases, we do not offer any extensive services and refer all residents to the appropriate community services agencies to address their specific medical, financial, psychological, education, job-related, domestic violence, and/or substance abuse recovery-related needs.
The residential program can also have a 10% residency of single women without children if the occupancy, waiting list, and program elements allow so at the time of application. WARM can not serve individuals fleeing from domestic violence, stalking, or intimate partner violence at this site due to permit restrictions.
What is the cost of WARM’s services?
The primary purpose of the WARM House is to help homeless women with children transition into a more stable situation. Therefore, we provide our residence and services at no cost to the participants. WARM is financially supported by local churches and charitable donors that provide the means to cover the cost of the residents living quarters, program services, in-house activities, and basic needs. Each family is sponsored by an area congregation based on which room they occupy in the WARM House. Our goal is to allow each mother an opportunity to regain stability, with minimal financial obligations, while she is at the WARM House rebuilding her family’s future.
What are the eligibility requirements of WARM?
All participants must be eighteen years or older, homeless or without appropriate housing, have at least one child in their custody/care, must not have any unattended current warrants and/or capiases, must not be fleeing from a current domestic violence incidence, and must be willing to abide by WARM’s regulations and requirements.
For the safety of our staff and residents, we cannot give WARM House access to applicants that appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs at intake, in need of immediate medical and/or mental health treatment, or anyone believed to be a potential danger to themselves or others.
Also, WARM is unable to provide residency to sex offenders. Please contact our office if you would like further information on our eligibility requirements.
What is the process to participate with WARM?
Complete and submit an application (online or in-person by appointment only); if approved all participants meet individually with WARM Manager and/or Director to review the detailed rules and regulations of the program that include, but are not limited to, house curfews, house rules/policies, work/community service requirements, drug testing requirements, etc., sign a Participant/Program Contract, and begin residency if space is available or be placed on the WARM House Waiting List.
Residency is initially approved for 30 days and cannot exceed a total of 180 days. The program's primary goal is to help each family obtain stable housing upon exit.
***WARM. has an ongoing relationship with other local community agencies, the Department of Social Services, Child Protective Services, the local Department of Corrections, Parole/Probation, and Drug Court. Please be aware of our cooperation with these programs if your admission to our programs will be governed by one of these agencies or your residency at the WARM House will require regular reporting to others.**