When it opened last year, the SALT Center was offered as a cooling and warming place for anyone in need during extreme weather events.

A year later, it’s turned into a resource for people who need help with a wide range of things, including housing assistance, food assistance, substance abuse treatment, and yes, still a place for anyone that needs to take refuge from extreme heat or cold.

SALT stands for Shining a Light Together, and the Rev Dani Roger of First Baptist Church said that’s reflected in the support of the community as the mission of the SALT Center has evolved and expanded.

“We don’t do this alone,” she said. “We’ve seen our community come together. We’ve had people say maybe we can’t help directly, but you can and we will help you with that. We couldn’t do what we do without our community. We can’t express in words how grateful we are for all the donations.”

-Messenger photo by John McBride
The Rev. Dani Rogers of First Baptist Church in Fort Dodge and members of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance held a ribbon cutting to honor the SALT Center established by the church last year. The center celebrated its one-year anniversary Wednesday with an open house and ribbon cutting.

On Wednesday, the SALT Center held an open house that featured tours of the center, refreshments, games and testimonials from people who have been helped. The center also held a ribbon cutting with the Greater Growth Alliance and it received a $500 donation from St. Olaf Lutheran Church.

The center, which the church calls a Warming and Cooling Drop Inn, is located within the church at 28 North 10th Street in Fort Dodge. It’s completely staffed by volunteers. Rogers said at Wednesday’s event that more than 70 people have volunteered during the first year of operation.

Since opening last July, the SALT center has served more than 2,000 individuals. The busiest time was from March to May of this year, when 602 people received some type of assistance.

“Probably 80 percent of our demographics have been considered homeless,” said Rogers. “But not always homeless in the sense they were living on the streets. It was people who were maybe couchsurfing, living with different people or staying with friends. But we’ve also helped low income individuals, senior citizens and families.”

The SALT Center now offers a variety of services to help people get back on their feet. Those services include assistance in applying for housing, Medicaid, food benefits, or job applications. The center also helps with making mental health and physical health appointments, and assistance with I.Ds, birth certificates and Social Security cards.

-Messenger photo by John McBride
The Rev. Dani Rogers of First Baptist Church, left, was presented with a $500 donation from St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge at the SALT Center one-year anniversary Wednesday. Rogers accepted the donation from St. Olaf associate pastor the Rev. Jim McColley and pastor the Rev. Emily Sauer.

They also offer hygiene items, clothing and household items for individuals going from homelessness into a new residence.

First Baptist has maintained a clothing closet for individuals in need for nearly 40 years, according to Rogers.

The SALT center will soon offer an area for anyone that does not have a place to shower. Currently, the center has an agreement with the REC Center to provide shower facilities, but Rogers said the SALT Center is finishing up construction of a shower facility that people can use. They are also hoping to add a washer and dryer at the facility.

The center is currently open Monday through Friday from 1-4 p.m. and is open year-round, not just during weather events.

Rogers said the center offers a place for people to come and rest, to read books, or to get any assistance with the services they offer. She said, though, that there are no televisions or radios, which is done intentionally.

“Part of our mission is to build relationships,” she said. “Once we get those relationships established, we can start to ask some difficult questions about how a person ended up in their situation and we can empower them to make a change.”

Rogers said based on their intake statistics for the year, the majority of people served are from the Fort Dodge and Webster County area. She said only 10 individuals served have been from outside the local community.

“We have morphed into so much more than we anticipated when we opened,” Rogers said. “We’ve gotten such good positive feedback from people. I am absolutely grateful that we can shine our light together.”

Rogers said the biggest need right now for the SALT Center is monetary donations. It takes about $125 a day to operate the center. Anyone wishing to make a donation can visit the Fort Dodge Community Foundation page and earmark donations for the SALT Center. Donations of needed items can be taken to the church. Volunteers can reach out to Rogers at the church. Its number is 515-573-3517 and email is saltcenterfd@gmail.com.