Malden Warming Center

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Malden, MA
Malden Warming Center

A collaborative service providing a safe warm place for adult individuals experiencing homelessness in winter. Contact us for daily operating hours.

Our season runs December 1st through March 31st every year. We open every day with our hours between 7 p.m - 7:30 a.m.

11/09/2026

Our next new-volunteer orientation session is just 5 days away! If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, now’s your chance: simply show up on Nov 14, and we’ll help you get started.

For now, our series on “what does a Warming Center volunteer do?” will provide more information about the different roles you can play as a volunteer (many people sign up for different roles on different nights!). Next up: The KITCHEN WINDOW ASSISTANT.

Here’s what you can expect:

⏰ You'll arrive at 6pm to prepare coffee and hot water.
👫 Guests arrive around 6:30pm, usually cold and hungry. Serve coffee, hot cocoa, and snacks while the other volunteers get dinner ready.
🎤 When dinner is ready, call up guests by name to receive a full, hot, nutritious meal.
🏠 At 8pm, you'll head home - and still have a couple hours left in your evening!

We hope to see you at the 529 Eastern Ave, Malden on one of the following dates. Anyone is welcome, whether you are sure you want to volunteer or just want to find out more!:
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
- Sunday Nov 22, 2pm

Leave any questions in the comments!

11/05/2026

Friends: there's a new-volunteer orientation session TONIGHT! Here's another example of a role you could be playing at the MWC:

This year, we have a NEW VOLUNTEER ROLE. Past and current volunteers will know that check-in time and the hour or so after are incredibly busy. The OPENING ROOM MONITOR SUPPORT shift will be an extra set of hands during this time. This person will:

⏰ Arrive at 6pm, before we open our doors to guests.
🧼 Get things set up for the night by disinfecting pillows, restocking the mini-fridge, making sure everything is ready to go.
📋 When our doors open at 6:30pm, other volunteers will check guests in for the night. During this time, you'll pass out blankets and help guests as things come up.
🏠 At 8pm, you'll head home - and still have a couple hours left in your evening!

This is great shift for those who:
🛌 Want to be home early.
👫Want to work directly with guests.
😃Want to be in the middle of the action.

We're "sign up as you go" with no commitment necessary. If this role fits your schedule, start by attending a volunteer training at the Malden Warming Center, 529 Eastern Ave, Malden.
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
We hope to see you there. See less

11/02/2026

Next up in our "what does a warming center volunteer do" series: the BATHROOM MONITOR.

When most people picture volunteering with people experiencing homelessness, they think of serving meals or sorting donations. But at the MWC, there’s another crucial role we need filled every night.

Our bathroom monitor sits near the restrooms, hands out keys, and keeps a simple log. Most importantly, they’re close by to respond and alert others in the very rare event of an overdose.

It’s not glamorous, and it doesn’t make for a great photo op. But it’s one of the roles that keeps us running. And thanks to the guests who stop to chat, it’s honestly not a bad way to spend an evening.

(Yes, that’s the mayor! He makes a pretty good bathroom monitor, as does Dave, who has been more valuable to the MWC than words can express).

If this role fits your schedule, start by attending a volunteer training at the Malden Warming Center, 529 Eastern Ave, Malden.
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm

We hope to see you there.

10/29/2026

Next up in our "what does a warming center volunteer do" series is is the ROOM MONITOR 4 (aka the morning room monitor). It's a great way to start the day!

🌅1. At 6am, you show up. Often times guests are asleep at this point. You review any notes from the previous shifts.
⏰2. At 6:30am, you start making sure everyone is awake to avoid delays in getting out the door later. Then, everyone starts getting ready for the day. You hand out bathroom keys and assist when needed.
🍩3. Usually there's a breakfast volunteer serving breakfast, if there isn't, you'll put out some coffee and donuts donated by Honey Dew Malden.
👋You check people out of the Center using our electronic system and guests head onto the provided transportation.
📋For the last 15-30 minutes, it's just you and your partner. You'll follow a closing check-list (tidy up, turn off the heat, etc.). The shift is technically 6am - 8am, but you can usually get out the door by 7:45 or so.

Note: the sunrise is a nice motivation for this shift! The sky pictured is what the social media coordinator saw when she was on the way to this shift 😉

Interested? Following an orientation session and a standard background check, our volunteer coordinator will schedule a time for you to shadow experienced volunteers for more training until you feel ready to start. Shifts are all “sign up as you go” with no commitment necessary.

Choose just one session. We hope to see you there!
- Tuesday Oct 27, 6:30pm
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden).

10/28/2026

Last night we held our first new-volunteer orientation of the season. It never ceases to amaze us that our neighbors choose to spend an evening learning about the MWC.

The biggest takeaway: we offer hospitality with dignity and respect, even on someone’s worst day. That’s hard to do. It means setting aside our own feelings to find patience and compassion, again and again and again. Leaning on each other makes that possible.

Our next session is Thursday, November 5. We'd love for you to stop by, whether you know you want to sign up for shifts this year or you're just curious about what we do. No commitment necessary.

Next sessions:
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden).

10/27/2026

TONIGHT is the first new-volunteer orientation session!

Next up in our series on what MWC volunteers do: THE ROOM MONITOR 3 SHIFT.
Unlike the other shifts, there is a stipend available for those who can commit to recurring nights. Here's what you can expect:

🔑You show up at 11:30pm and greet your partner. You check the notes from the previous shift.
🛌Most guests are sleeping. You keep in eye out for the just-in-case situations, and if anyone needs anything, you are welcome to get it for them the same way you would a guest in your home.
☕ Sometimes people get ready for the pretty early, like 5am. Around this time you'll probably want to put the coffee on (for you and the guests!) and you may need to grab some toothbrushes, or grab some donuts, etc.
🚗At 6am, the morning shift comes in to relieve you.

Interested? Following an orientation session and a standard background check, our volunteer coordinator will schedule a time for you to shadow experienced volunteers for more training until you feel ready to start. Shifts are all “sign up as you go” with no commitment necessary.

Choose just one session. We hope to see you there!
- Tuesday Oct 27, 6:30pm
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden).

10/26/2026

Last week, we received a $350 donation from something called North Shore Nacho Night. For a small org like ours, that amount is a big deal - so we looked closer.

It turns out North Shore Nacho Night is a group of folks who’ve been meeting every week at JJ Grimsby’s in Stoneham for almost two years. They run raffles and 50/50s and donate the money to causes that matter to them, and this time (thanks to MWC volunteers Lois and Erin!) they picked us.

We feel so ridiculously lucky to live somewhere where we don’t always have to ask for help, because neighbors think of us on their own.

Thank you, Northshore Nacho Night! How cool is our community?! 🧡

10/25/2026

Next up in our “what does a Warming Center volunteer do?” series: The ROOM MONITOR 2 shift.

This shift goes from 9pm - 11:30pm. As far as Room Monitor shifts go, it's pretty quiet!

📋At 9pm, you greet your partner and check the notes from the previous shift. Many guests will be settled in for the night already.
🏠 You provide hospitality. When someone asks for something - a cup of milk, a plate of leftovers, a toothbrush - you grab it for them.
🛌You may takes guests out on a smoke break, and may have the chance to chat before turning the lights out.
🚗At 11:30pm you greet the next shift and head home.

Interested? Following an orientation session and a standard background check, our volunteer coordinator will schedule a time for you to shadow experienced volunteers for more training until you feel ready to start. Shifts are all “sign up as you go” with no commitment necessary.

Choose just one session. We hope to see you there!
- Tuesday Oct 27, 6:30pm
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden).

10/21/2026

Next up in our “what does a Warming Center volunteer do?” series: The ROOM MONITOR 1 shift.

The Room Monitor role is the bread and butter of the MWC. Room Monitors work directly with guests: checking them in and out, making sure everyone has what they need, enforcing basic rules if necessary, and just being there to support and provide hospitality.

The role is split into four shifts. ROOM MONITOR 1 goes from 6:15pm to 9pm. It’s the busiest of the four, but it’s also the most popular. A lot of people like it because it offers the most interactions with guests - you have the opportunity to set the welcoming tone we have become known for.

Your evening will go something like this:

📋Join several other volunteers to carry out the check-in process as guests enter.
🚗Order Ubers and offer food and clothing to anyone who did not get a spot.
🧡Do whatever needs to be done: help pass out blankets, hand out a laptop, give a tour to a new guest. Someone needs some boots? Send them over to Amy's closet. One gues took another guest's favorite spot before they could get there? Empathize and collaboratively come up with a solution, like finding a spot with an even better view of the TV.
🔑At 9pm, hand over your keys and lanyards to the next shift.

Following an orientation session and a standard background check, our volunteer coordinator will schedule a time for you to shadow experienced volunteers for more training until you feel ready to start. Shifts are all “sign up as you go” with no commitment necessary.

Choose just one session. We hope to see you there!
- Tuesday Oct 27, 6:30pm
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden).

10/19/2026

What does a Warming Center volunteer do? Over the next few weeks, we’ll strive to answer this question in the hopes that you, dear reader, might realize how much fun we have and decide to join us at an upcoming orientation session.

First up: What does an AMY’S CLOSET ATTENDANT do?

👟At 7pm, you sign in and head right for Amy’s Closet (our donation room) and greet your fellow volunteer.
👟As guests approach the service window, you’ll fetch whatever they’ve asked for; a pair of sweatpants, a toothbrush, socks to replace the wet ones they came in with.
👟Very likely, you’ll find yourself playing fashion advisor or striking up a conversation with some wonderful guests.
👟As you go, you’ll make sure to keep things tidy and organized. You’ll also write down which items you’ve given away.
👟Eventually, things will start to slow down. You might have some time to chat with your fellow volunteer or do some folding.
👟At 9pm, you’ll sign out and head home!

Following an orientation session and a standard background check, you’ll be cleared to sign up for Amy’s Closet shifts. We’ll pair you with an experienced volunteer to start. Shifts are all “sign up as you go” with no commitment necessary.

Choose just one session. We hope to see you there!
- Tuesday Oct 27, 6:30pm
- Thursday Nov 5, 6:30pm
- Saturday Nov 14, 10am
-Sunday Nov 22, 2pm
The Malden Warming Center (529 Eastern Ave, Malden)

Address

529 Eastern Avenue
Malden, MA
02148

Website

https://maldenwarmingcenter.org/, https://maldenwarmingcenter.org/#contact

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