Kevin Boilard shows the setup for overnight guests Thursday at Lewiston’s winter warming center operated by Kaydenz Kitchen located in the former Schemengees Bar & Grille. Each guest will have a labeled, heavy-duty plastic tote to store their belongings and to mark their space on the floor, along with an optional floor mat and blanket for resting. Guests can also watch TV or play games with others. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The building had already been completely gutted and emptied of all furniture when Kevin Boilard and his team at Kaydenz Kitchen began making other changes. Among the first was to remove a film that tinted the windows, allowing natural light back in.

The former Schemengees Bar & Grille, one of the two locations targeted in the Oct. 25 shooting last year, will now host an overnight winter warming center for homeless beginning Friday night and running through April 30.

“It was kind of symbolic, bringing a whole new light to the facility,” Boilard said, referring to the changes made.

After that, he said, the warming center came together one piece of furniture, one rug, one blanket at a time through community donations.

That’s one of the reasons Boilard feels like his organization’s effort to address homelessness finally has “community buy-in” as it heads into its second year of hosting an overnight warming center. After last year’s operation at the Calvary United Methodist Church was generally well-received by city leaders and the public, Boilard said the team has worked hard to overcome “pre-set stigmas and stereotypes that have consumed conversations around homelessness.”

“Once you see that support start to grow, we genuinely believe that positivity is just as contagious as negativity, and what we were able to do is kind of change the dynamics around that conversation to a more positive vibe,” he said.

The previous year’s warming center at Calvary was not as well-received by officials, making the effort more challenging moving forward. But Boilard said when Kaydenz Kitchen was selected to run last year’s operation at Calvary, they knew it was “a game-changing opportunity.”

Kevin Boilard shows some of the donated kitchen appliances Thursday at the new winter warming center operated by Kaydenz Kitchen, located in the former Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston. Many area restaurants have offered to bring in trays of food, which can be warmed up in the kitchen. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Boilard and his team were behind previous efforts to stand up shelters that were ultimately denied by city officials, but he said they took the concerns from the city and the public and “reevaluated” their approach. A big piece of that was a focus on community buy-in, opening themselves up to having difficult discussions, and being transparent about finances.

“We went in with the highest of expectations and raising the bar as far as what success looked like to our team,” he said, adding that the team has even greater expectations for this winter in the new location. “Some of our biggest naysayers two or three years ago are now some of our supporters.”

Boilard said they want to show neighbors and nearby businesses that they’re going to bring value to the area, and that they’ll abide by a city “good neighbor” policy that stipulates shelters work to immediately address any disturbances or other related issues caused by clientele.

“We want to be invisible from the outside looking in,” he said.

Kevin Boilard unpacks snacks Thursday at the new winter warming center operated by Kaydenz Kitchen, located in the former Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston. The shelter will collaborate with area restaurants and markets to provide meals Sunday through Wednesday. Bates College will supply meals Thursdays, and community members can bring Crock-Pot meals Fridays and Saturdays. The shelter will be open starting Friday night. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

In September, Kaydenz Kitchen was also selected by the City Council to operate Lewiston’s first permanent, low-barrier shelter, which looks to serve between 40-60 guests year-round. A low-barrier shelter does not deny entry for reasons such as being under the influence, participation in religious services, or a lack of identification.

Boilard has said the Schemengees location would be ideal for the permanent shelter, but the decision will ultimately be up to city officials.

Boilard is hoping the trend in community support can extend to the permanent shelter, but he said the team knows this winter’s warming center could swing the pendulum of public opinion in either direction.

He said part of the difficulty has been navigating concerns about a low-barrier model for the permanent shelter, even as the emergency warming center is essentially a “no-barrier” operation. Due to state laws, however, warming centers are not allowed to provide beds.

The winter warming center at 551 Lincoln St. will be open seven days a week, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

On Wednesday, Kaydenz Kitchen hosted an open house for first responders, many of whom had not returned to the building since last year’s shootings. Boilard said they wanted to make sure they could have that moment before the building officially opened.

“It was kind of an amazing moment to be part of,” he said. “You could tell there was still some emotions, but there was a lot of appreciation.”

Mayor Carl Sheline said Thursday that the transformation of Schemengees into a warming center “represents a significant amount of effort and is a great example of turning something tragic into a positive development for our city.”

Others on the warming center team include Tonya Sands, day shelter manager at Trinity Jubilee Center; Kimber Sands, administrator for Blue Sky Counseling; Jamie Caouette, director of the school department’s Store Next Door; Linda Scott, a behavioral health professional and former city councilor; and Megan Parks, a substance use counselor and chair of the School Committee.

Kaydenz Kitchen was the only local agency to respond to a city request for proposals this summer for operating a warming center. The proposal was for $119,868.

Boilard has also since relocated the Kaydenz Kitchen resource center, clothing closet, and food pantry to the Lincoln Street location, providing services to the homeless during the day.

The communal area at the winter warming center operated by Kaydenz Kitchen, seen Thursday, has a TV and collection of movies. The shelter will be open starting Friday night. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal