Our Daily Show Interview! O.W.L. Giving Tuesday, Ways To Support, and More!
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ALTON/EDWARDSVILLE/GRANITE CITY - The Overnight Warming Locations (OWLs) are once again active and making sure there’s a warm place for people to sleep on the coldest nights of the year.
Located in Alton, Edwardsville and Granite City, the OWLs open when the forecast overnight temperature in Alton is 20 degrees or lower. Unhoused community members or folks with insufficient heat are invited to come in, enjoy a hot dinner, take showers, and spend the night. In the morning, guests receive breakfast and bus tokens so they can travel to a daytime warming center.
“It’s not just for folks who are experiencing homelessness. It’s for anybody who is experiencing heat insufficiency, whether your power is out, if your heat is not running enough. Come in,” explained Isaac Sandidge. “We’ve got a place to sleep. We’ve got enough food. We’ll feed you. We have community. It’s not just come in and sleep. We spend time with you. We get to know you. We build that community around our neighbors, no matter who they are.”
Sandidge, who has volunteered with the OWLs since their inception, and Martha Pfister, who oversees development and fundraising, pointed out that today is Giving Tuesday and the OWLs are always seeking donations. You can donate monetarily or visit their Amazon wishlists to get a sense of what they need.
“People know that they’re giving what will actually be used,” Pfister said. “I love when people want to give things, but we have to just make sure that if someone is going to the trouble of purchasing things, spending their money, bringing it to the OWLs, we want to make sure that it’ll get used. We just want to make it easy so people know what’s actually needed.”
Additionally, they are “in dire need” of more volunteers. OWL volunteers are divided into three teams who staff the OWLs on a rotating schedule when the temperature drops.
Whether you’re ready for an overnight shift from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., an early-morning hospitality shift from 7–9 a.m., or something else, the OWLs could always use more people. They also need volunteers to do laundry and coordinate meals behind the scenes.
If you aren’t able to volunteer this year, there are many more ways to help. Germania Brew Haus encourages customers to round up their purchase, with this money going to the OWLs. On Dec. 7, 2025, you can paint furniture at Restore Decor in Edwardsville; profits from furniture sales will go to the OWLs. On Jan. 16, 2026, you can Drink for a Cause at Old Bakery Beer Co. and support the OWLs with every beer you purchase.
Advocacy and showing your support for the OWLs also goes a long way. Pfister and Sandidge thanked the many people and businesses who have worked to keep the OWLs in operation.
“As much as we need funding, people really are our biggest resource, whether it’s volunteers or just having people support us,” Pfister said. “It’s so amazing. The more you can just get behind the work and patron those businesses that are supporting the OWL, we love that. It’s just that community that's built through the volunteers and all the supporters.”
As temperatures continue to drop to 20 degrees or lower, the OWLs will activate. They plan to be open tonight, Dec. 2, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. For more information about the OWLs, including how to donate, how to volunteer, or how to know when they are open, visit their official Facebook page.
“I hope folks are staying warm out there,” Sandidge added. “Think of us on those nights when it’s bitter cold out there, because our volunteers are out there braving the elements to make sure that people aren’t dying out there on the streets.”
The Alton OWL is located at Deliverance Temple at 1125 E. 6th Street in Alton.
The Edwardsville OWL is located at First Baptist Church at 534 St. Louis Street in Edwardsville.
The Granite City OWL is located at Mt. Zion Church at 2827 Mockingbird Lane in Granite City.
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