CHICO — A temporary warming center is open in Chico for two nights again Monday night until Wednesday morning, as temperatures drop and emergency shelters remain closed due to COVID-19.
The city announced the warming centers will be open again due to extreme weather. Starting 4 p.m. Monday, the warming center will be located at Depot Park on Fifth and Cedar Streets. It will close 8 a.m. Tuesday before being open 4 p.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The center will be designed as a tent with lighting and heating for those seeking shelter from the cold, although anyone using the center must wear masks due to COVID-19. Personal belongings must be left outside of the tent area and pets must remain leashed at all times. Due to COVID-19, masks will be required in the warming center.
The Emergency Warming Center is activated where weather forecasts show the temperature falling below 32 degrees Fahrenheit with no precipitation. Additional criteria include the temperature being at or below 45 degrees with anticipated precipitation of 3⁄4 inches or more, or if the temperature is at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit where wind speeds could average 15 or more miles per hour. These conditions are not considered likely to be met after Wednesday morning, although there is potential for precipitation taking place Wednesday night.
Other shelter options
The one nonprofit emergency shelter, Torres Shelter, remains closed as the county remains under a stay-at-home order, to protect health of staff and current guests within the facility.
City staff announced Dec. 21 that a location is being sought for a possible sanctioned campground, hoped to accommodate 40 tent sites and 30 single room occupancy/non-congregate units at the current location of the Silver Dollar BMX track on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. However, that request for emergency use will not be considered by the property’s owner until January. Additionally, the city will need to complete the relocation of the Silver Dollar BMX, but funds must be raised to do so.
Safe Space volunteer Siana Sonoquie said Safe Space is still seeking a location for an emergency shelter, modified for COVID-19 restrictions. Safe Space is helping administrate Project Roomkey, which holds over 100 vulnerable occupants while there is state funding to run the program.
A new volunteer congregate shelter will look different because of COVID-19 restrictions, she added. And meanwhile, the city’s warming center often has few visitors when open, possibly due to the difficulty of transporting items while living unsheltered.
”It’s so hard to get them to go to a warming center when they can’t bring their stuff with them … and you’re not allowed to sleep in it,” Sonoquie said.
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December 29, 2020 at 09:04AM
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Warming center to reopen, no emergency shelter open - Chico Enterprise-Record
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