Wareham churches have opened their doors for the past five years so homeless residents have a place to stay during the cold winter nights.

But this year, some of the churches will need help getting up to code in order to continue to host the homeless.

During the program, called Nights of Hospitality, the Church of the Good Shepherd, Emmanuel Church of the Nazarene, Emmanuel Assembly of God, and St. Patrick's Church alternate the weeks in which they give the homeless a place to sleep, feed them dinner, and serve them breakfast in the morning.

But in the years that the churches have been conducting the program, pastors have had to continually upgrade their structures to meet certain requirements for a "temporary overnight shelter," which the churches are deemed when they are used for sleeping.

"It's somewhere between just a regular church and a hotel," explains Pastor David Shaw of the Emmanuel Church of the Nazarene, located on Rogers Avenue in Wareham.

Shaw's church needs hardwired carbon monoxide detectors and a new fire panel, among other things, to the tune of $6,800.

The Emmanuel Assembly of God in Onset requires a smoke and carbon monoxide system, pull boxes, and other safety features, which Pastor Colon Wright says will cost nearly $12,000. The church will also have to pay a monthly fee to a security system company, all of which it cannot afford, Wright said.

"My board… we don't have this money," says Wright.

The Church of the Good Shepherd needs carbon monoxide sensors and sprinklers. Fortunately, the pastors said, St. Patrick's Church is already up to code.

"These are state codes, so if [the town] doesn't enforce them … they may be as liable as we are," Shaw noted. "We could just use the help this year with the upgrades."

The regulations also state that no building can operate as a temporary overnight shelter for more than 52 days in a calendar year or for more than seven consecutive days at a time, which means if the Nights of Hospitality is going to continue, all four of the churches need to get up to code, the pastors explained.

But that doesn't make the high price tag of getting the work done any easier to swallow.

"Compare the risk of a homeless person dying of exposure outside in the winter to dying of carbon monoxide poisoning in our church…" laments Wright. "They're predicting this to be a bad winter."

Shaw and Wright say there is somewhere between 50 and 60 people who are chronically homeless in Wareham — that is, living on the street or couch surfing, with no permanent place to live. That figure does not include the families living in temporary housing in the town's motels.

"There's this myth that [homeless] people are from out of town. Most of these people are lifelong residents," said Shaw. "They did not come here as tourists and decide to stay. They grew up here."

Last year, the churches hosted 30 people during the Nights of Hospitality. The year before, 36 people took advantage of the service.

The pastors are hoping that donations can help the churches get over these financial hurdles so they can keep Nights of Hospitality going.

"We are in the miracle business here…" Wright notes, explaining that he understands that money is tight and the funds won't be easy to raise.

But, he says, they must try.

Can you help? Donations can be made to the Wareham Area Clergy Association, PO Box 257, Wareham MA 02571. Note that the donation is for the Nights of Hospitality.