Our Program
Cape Warming Center
The Cape Warming Center operates during the winter months when temperatures in Cape Girardeau reach dangerous levels.
The Warming Center provides adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability with a safe, warm, temporary overnight place to sleep. Guests are welcomed with hospitality and dignity in a low-barrier environment centered on safety and relationships.
Cape Cares, Inc. was established in 2026 to provide sustainable nonprofit leadership for the Cape Warming Center and to create opportunities for continued service in our community.
The Cape Warming Center is currently Cape Cares' primary and only active program. As a newly formed nonprofit organization, Cape Cares is focused on strengthening and sustaining this program while thoughtfully exploring future opportunities to serve our community.
Warming Center Mission
To show God's love by providing a safe, warm, temporary overnight place for people to sleep in extreme cold weather.
How It Works
The Cape Warming Center operates seasonally from November through March and opens when overnight conditions meet our extreme-cold activation criteria.
When open, the Center operates overnight and provides guests with a warm place to sleep, meals, and basic necessities. Trained community volunteers serve throughout the night.
Our work is also about connection. Through relationships with volunteers, community organizations, and resource partners, guests can connect with services and assistance that may help address needs beyond the immediate cold-weather emergency.
A Community Effort
More than 400 volunteers helped make the Warming Center possible during our most recent season, serving more than 170 individuals.
Cape Cares works alongside community partners whose outreach, transportation, meals, laundry services, resource connections, and other support help make this work possible.