Death Prevention is Goal for Winter Warming Centers

The 2024-2025 winter season was record-breaking  for the Emergency Weather Response Team.  Project Leader Tiffany Jackson coordinated the 25 activations in seven locations throughout all three counties served by the Community Council. That’s a 110% increase in the number of nights the program operated!  In the 2023-24 winter season only 11 nights were cold enough to be activated.

The goal of the EWR team is to prevent death from cold exposure.  Once again this year that goal was achieved for our unhoused neighbors. It was the eighth year for this life-sustaining program, to provide warming centers for people on the streets when temps were predicted to be 20 degrees or less.

Bed-nights added up to 488, which was up from 124 last year, and represents a 294% increase in services!  Also 47 dogs were lodged this go-round.  A total of 127 verified households participated.  Most lodging happened at churches or community centers.  On a couple of occasions motel stays were used.  None of this could be possible were it not for the many churches, organizations and volunteers who have committed to its operation.

FSBH is thankful to be a part of this essential program for our unhoused neighbors.  In the very beginning FSBH was one of the original funding agencies to get this program started.