PORT TOWNSEND — This week’s cold snap has the Jefferson County emergency winter shelter filled to the brim.
“We’re at capacity and it’s cold, but the actual shelter is warm,” said deForest Walker, Olympic Community Action Program Housing Services Division director.
With 15 now in the shelter, the stated capacity, Walker said the bitter cold that has lingered, and dipped into the low 20s early Tuesday, has shelter supporters concerned about “people that are minimally housed.”
That would include those with pipes frozen or who cannot afford home heating.
“In the past, during really, really cold weather, we’ve had people come in from, say, Beaver Valley,” she said.
“When we reach our sleeping capacity, and someone’s in genuine need, we are going to welcome them in.”
Port Townsend-area churches also have offered temporary housing assistance to the needy, she said, but so far the shelter has managed to house those who asked for help.
“We’ve been so blessed with a very big outpouring of support for this project,” she said of the shelter, now in its fourth winter season.
Walker said that the shelter has ample supplies, including plenty of socks and jackets, but it could use some blankets.
She said blanket donations can be dropped off at the OlyCAP office at 803 W. Park St., in the Port Townsend Business Park, off Upper Sims Way.
“Sometimes people sleep in their cars, and they can do that, but they need some extra blankets,” Walker said.
The shelter opens at 4 p.m. in the basement of the American Legion Post 26, 208 Monroe St., and closes at 6 a.m. the following day.
It will remain open through March 5, about the same period as last year. It opened Nov. 30.
Shelter users get dinner, breakfast and a bagged lunch to go. Military veterans are given priority. Only single adults are accepted, and they must be 18 or older.
The shelter served 76 individuals in 2007, up from 55 in 2006.
Walker said that the county Sheriff’s Office and Port Townsend Police Department have cooperated in referring homeless people to the shelter.
For this season, a new furnace was installed for the shelter, and drainage improvements were made in the Legion’s driveway to prevent the basement from flooding, American Legion Cmdr. Joe Carey said.
The furnace and drainage improvements were funded by $14,000 in donations given in three months.
The Legion shelter works in partnership with Community Outreach Association Shelter Team, or COAST, and OlyCAP.
Walker praised the American Legion and COAST for their support.
Opened in 2005-2006, the shelter has about 250 volunteers and two paid overnight monitors, paid by OlyCAP.
The shelter serves dinner, breakfast and a bagged lunch to help those without a roof over their heads get through the day.
Each paid monitor is assisted by a volunteer.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
