PORT TOWNSEND — The winter shelter for the homeless, which opened Monday, is serving 10 people during its first week in operation.
An OlyCAP — Olympic Community Action Programs — representative said the shelter will be open two additional weeks this year.
The winter shelter in the basement of the American Legion Post 26 at 208 Monroe St. is serving eight men, half of them military veterans with disabilities, and two women, said deForest Walker, director of OlyCAP’s Housing Services Division.
The shelter is in its fifth season.
“We’ve received confirmation from the city for our use permits, so that will put us through March 18,” Walker said,
“And that’s the longest we’ve ever operated.”
Walker said that, in 2008, the shelter was closed on March 5 even though temperatures were still frigid and conditions snowy.
This year, shelter supporters chose to extend it two weeks.
Veterans are given priority, and Walker said she is seeing a growing number of homeless vets in
Port Townsend, some of them having served in the Iraq War.
To serve the homeless, a force of at least 250 volunteers have come forward to get the shelter in shape, brightening the basement up with new paint.
The American Legion has spruced up the space, and faith-based Community Outreach Association Shelter Team, or COAST, has joined with OlyCAP to make the shelter a success, Walker said.
Port Townsend Lighthouse Lion’s Club members also have become involved in the shelter.
The shelter opens at 4 p.m. daily and runs through 8 a.m. the following day.
The facility, which has a kitchen, served 75 individuals during 2007 and last year, up from 55 in 2006.
Walker said that Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the Port Townsend Police Department officers have referred homeless people to the shelter.
Opened in the 2005-2006 winter season, the shelter has two paid overnight monitors, paid by OlyCAP.
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.
