The City of Bellingham and the Whatcom County Health Department have partnered with Road2Home, a nonprofit serving homeless people, to offer additional overnight shelter and daytime warming options during severe weather events, the city announced Friday.
These services will remain open during severe weather, including weekends and holidays, and are available to anyone who needs them, without a referral, the city said.
The announcement comes after the U.S. National Weather Service put out two alerts for Whatcom County: a flood watch from Nov. 3–5, and a wind advisory from Nov. 3–4.
The Health Department announced Friday that the overnight severe weather shelter is scheduled to open for Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 7–8.
The facilities will be activated when specific weather conditions and other criteria are met, and will be staffed by Road2Home staff and volunteers during all hours of operation, according to a city news release.
“Our community has programs and facilities for year-around emergency shelter and many other services for individuals and families who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness,” Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood said in the release. “Severe weather, however, can push our community’s shelter resources past capacity at a time when it’s too dangerous to remain outdoors.”
These temporary programs join other winter-specific services expected to be available around the county this winter, including partnerships between Lighthouse Mission and Christ the King Church, between First Presbyterian Church and the YWCA, and services hosted by Ferndale Community Services, that will increase shelter space over the winter.
The Bellingham Day-Use Warming Center is located at the Bellingham Public Library’s Lecture Room at 210 Central Ave. The facility can serve up to 60 individuals at a time, and guest intake will be conducted on-site. The program will open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. when it is in service.
The Bellingham Overnight Severe Weather Shelter will operate at the Civic Field Athletic Complex, 1355 Civic Field Way. The facility can accommodate up to 37 individuals on any night, and guest intake will be conducted on-site. The shelter will open from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. on nights it is activated.
Road2Home staff and volunteers will be available at both locations to support guests until the program closes each day.
While no referrals are required for individuals to use temporary severe weather services, referrals to these programs may be made by various outreach teams and community partners who will be kept up-to-date about severe weather program status, the city said.
For updates on the open and closed status of each facility, call the night-by-night shelter hotline at 360-788-7983, or visit the Emergency Severe Winter Shelter page.
Ferndale Community Services will offer severe winter shelter, overnight and day-use, for individuals and families. Visit its Severe Winter Shelter page or call 360-380-2200 ext. 4 to find out if it is open.
Community members interested in helping support these winter services can visit road2home.org, email Road2Home at swp@road2home.org, or visit ferndalecs.org for more information.
