Temperatures below freezing are filling shelters and warming centers while prompting the opening of others on the North Olympic Peninsula. Here is a list.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Port Townsend
• The Jefferson County Emergency Shelter is located on the lower level of the American Legion Hall at 209-A Monroe St., Port Townsend.
Shelter is offered to adults 18 and older from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. The shelter also operates a warming center for adult individuals when the temperature in Port Townsend and surrounding areas goes into the lower 30s and/or below freezing temperatures. The hours are the same as the shelter.
The shelter has been at capacity — 30 — or above every night, said Pangborn, who also operates the Port Townsend shelter.
• The Winter Welcome Center is located at the Marine Park Community Building in Pope Marine Park on Water Street. The shelter is open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., seven days a week and longer in severe weather. It will be open at least through today until 4 p.m.
The center is run by the Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition and provides warmth, WiFi, bathrooms and community for those who have nowhere else to go.
CLALLAM COUNTY
Port Angeles
• Serenity House’s adult shelter at 2321 W. 18th is open 24/7 with cots, meals, showers and laundry services when temperatures drop to 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
Each client is tested for COVID-19; those who are infected are placed in a separate room.
Those who need a ride to the shelter can be picked up in vans that collect people at the Gateway transit center at the corner of Front and Lincoln streets daily at 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., noon to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The number for the shelter is 360-452-7221.
Sequim
• Olympic Community Action Programs hosts an overnight warming center when the temperature falls to 35 degrees Fahrenheit or lower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 525 N. Fifth Ave.
It is open from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. with soup, warm beverages and blankets. The center is not a full shelter since it does not meet fire code for beds, said Robin Pangborn, shelter manager.
Services are dependent upon sufficient staffing of the center which has been open since Nov. 1. The warming center is averaging 10 people a night, Pangborn said; the capacity is 20.
“The Sequim Food bank has been very generous” to the shelter, she said.
For information, call 360-301-9350.
