It’s just after 9 p.m. on a Tuesday, and more than three dozen people are preparing to bed down for the night at the place that they have made their home for the better part of the last month.

The amenities are sparse – garbage cans line the back of the revival-style tent, and roll-out synthetic grass provides only moderate cushion over the hard, decaying blacktop that lies beneath.

But something inside of the tent being operated in the parking lot of the city-owned Qualex building by Inner City Action feels a bit off and not like you would expect for a place where roughly 40 people without shelter lay their heads every single night.

It feels a little bit like a sleepover.

As the night winds down and those that have elected to utilize the “warming center” as a safe place to sleep for the night lay in their cots and wait for the evening movie to start, there’s a warmth that seems to be coming from the room.

No, I’m not talking about the heaters being operated by diesel generators in the parking lot, but the general feeling of community and acceptance that Inner City Action has been able to foster under the circumstances.

It took the organization, which operates on a faith-based model, only a day to erect the massive tent in the parking lot – a tent that they had previously taken on tour across the United States to try and unify churches in a revival setting. And after they got the tent up and running, it took them only a day to get it operational and ready to accept people who didn’t have anywhere else to go.

And based on the stories from some of the people that are there, their efforts appear to be paying off.

While there are a lot of preconceived notions about the homeless in Manteca and the lives that they live that contribute to their circumstances, there are also people like Zach – who arrives after the 6 p.m. cutoff for entry every night because he’s coming back from his warehouse job in Lathrop.

Clean-shaven and remarkably well dressed for somebody who doesn’t officially have a home, Zach believes that if it wasn’t for the loving support of the people at Inner City Action, he wouldn’t be in the position that he now finds himself in – saving money so that he buy a car that can get him back and forth to work and looking at places in Manteca or Lathrop where he can rent a room.

Zach stands straight when he talks, picks his words carefully, and emits a sense of pride when he talks about where he was before he found the organization and where he is today, and the fact that he shatters the stereotypes that most people have of those in his position doesn’t even seem to cross his mind – he just wants to succeed.

“I’m beyond grateful for all of the support that I’ve receive here,” said Zach, his words flowing a little more freely as he begins thinking about the connections that he has made. “I feel like it’s a second chance and an opportunity to get back onto my feet.”

Three hours before this point in the evening the dozens that are now stretching out blankets and trying to get comfortable on the camping-style cots were enjoying a hot meal with others that elected not to stay in the tent for the evening – taking their belongings and heading back out to wherever it is that they will bed down for the night.

Some of those that were reluctant to come in at first have slowly let their guard down are beginning to trust in the process, says Inner City Action Pastor Toby Payan – himself a one-time homeless Manteca resident that had to come to terms with his addiction. Some people aren’t ready to let it go, Payan said, and those are the people that they’re working hard to try and show that there’s another path than can be taken full of love, acceptance, and a sense of spiritual fulfillment that no drug could come close to duplicating.

And those that do come towards the welcoming arms of the program, like Dustin Vail, often end up taking up positions within the ministry to try and pay it forward and help others the same way that they were helped.

For 11 years, Vail lived in a tent in Manteca in a rural field – dug into the earth to avoid detection – and having to weather the elements that can be extreme in California’s Central Valley during the scorching summers and bitterly cold, damp winters.

From that tent, Payan said, he came to another tent – this time to share the word of his salvation and connect with people who were in circumstances that he knew all too well.

“This has changed my life,” said Vail, fixing his cold-weather beanie and shifting his weight as he thinks about where he was before he found these people. “It’s a new start for me – it’s a new beginning and a chance to accomplish a goal.

“I don’t know that I believed it before, but I feel now like I can achieve my goals today.”

The Inner City Action emergency warming center, located in the parking lot of the Qualex Building located at 555 Industrial Park Drive, is in constant need of supplies to help support the outreach effort. Those supplies include things like hygiene products, garbage bags, food items, clothing, cleaning supplies, and other essentials necessary to support the operation. Those interested in volunteering – whether that’s helping serve the homeless, sponsoring meals, or providing a service – can come to the tent on Saturday at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. for a volunteer orientation event to see what is available.

For additional information, visit www.innercityaction.org.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.