Whatcom County will maintain the severe weather shelter’s activation threshold at 32 degrees this winter, due to limited funds and staffing.
More than 600 community members have signed a petition asking the county to open the shelter more nights this winter and the county responded in a news release to public concerns. This year, the temperature threshold increased from previous years, when the shelter only activated when temperatures fell below 28 degrees.
The county’s severe weather shelter, located at Central Lutheran Church at 925 N. Forest St., is intended to open for up to 70 guests when temperatures overnight hit 32 degrees for four or more hours. Advocates say it should open when temperatures drop to 40 degrees, due to the health risks the cold poses to the county’s unsheltered homeless population.
But available funds and staffing limit the county from lowering the temperature threshold, the county said in a Friday, Dec. 27 news release.
As of January 2024, there were 328 unsheltered households in Whatcom County, according to numbers from the Coordinated Entry Housing Pool.
The county said in the news release that each additional night of operation of the shelter costs between $8,000 and $10,000; raising the temperature threshold by just 3 degrees could add an additional $200,000 to $300,000 in costs. At the current threshold, the shelter is anticipated to cost the county between $500,000 to $700,000.
“If we were to raise it further this winter, it would come at the cost of investments in other housing services,” the news release stated.
The Dec. 3 petition, which had 618 signatures as of publishing, was spearheaded by Tukayote Helianthus, an advocate and founder of Operation Water Drop. He argued in the petition that by raising the temperature threshold, the county can save lives by preventing hypothermia and other cold-related illnesses, providing stability for homeless people and supporting outreach organizations in delivering services to those in need.
In a change.org update to supporters on Dec. 27, Helianthus wrote that the shelter had been closed on recent nights when the weather had met the criteria.
“Our unhoused neighbors have been left to endure the elements, with nothing but makeshift shelters of cardboard, tarps, or thin blankets,” Helianthus wrote. “Some don’t even have that. The human toll is devastating, and it doesn’t have to be this way.”
The shelter’s activation works as follows: the health department reviews the weather forecast every weekday to see if they meet opening criteria, also considering wind chill and precipitation. Decisions are made 48 hours in advance. But safety is also considered: if the department does not have adequate staffing, it cannot safely open, “even if the temperatures drop to the threshold,” according to the news release.
“Sometimes, forecasts change on short notice, and we don’t have enough time to prepare for an activation,” the county wrote in the news release.
The county sought a nonprofit to operate the severe weather shelter this year but received no responses. The county also faced challenges finding a location, before Lutheran Community Services stepped up in October.
The county also partners with service providers to provide 60 motel rooms for families during the winter. People can also seek shelter at Ferndale Community Services’ severe weather shelter and at the new Lighthouse Mission shelter at 1312 F St.
Members of the public with questions or concerns about the shelter can contact the county at wintershelter@whatcomcounty.us.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
