The Age Well wing of the East Boulder Community Center will be opened as a temporary 24-hour emergency warming center for people experiencing homelessness in response to the cold front moving through the region this weekend that is expected to send temperatures well below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
The temporary “overflow” shelter, located at 5660 Sioux Drive, will be open Friday evening through Tuesday morning, the city said in a news release.
The city is asking adults seeking shelter to first visit the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (303-442-4646) at 4869 Broadway in North Boulder. If the shelter fills up, people will be transported free of charge to the shelter at the East Boulder Community Center, city officials said. The shelter has increased its capacity from 160 beds to 180 beds until Monday, Jan. 15. It will remain open during the day to anyone who spent the prior night there Saturday, Jan. 13, through Monday, Jan. 15, the city said. The shelter said two additional buses will help transport people from the existing bus stop on Walnut Street to the shelter until Monday evening.
Other nonprofits provide sheltering options for young people (303-447-1207) for ages 12 to 24 and women and transgender people (303-447-9602).
“We have been monitoring the weather throughout the week and given the forecast shift to temperatures below zero for several days with wind chills as low as –15 degrees, our unsheltered neighbors are at a significant risk,” Kurt Firnhaber, the city’s director of Housing and Human Services said in a news release Thursday night. “To protect as many lives as possible, we are opening an emergency warming shelter.” The city is opening the shelter in partnership with with Boulder County and the Boulder Office of Disaster Management.
Apart from the Age Well wing, which will be used as a temporary shelter, the East Boulder Community Center will remain open for recreational activities with normal operating hours.
Gov. Jared Polis issue a disaster declaration on Jan. 11 in advance of the winter storm. The declaration authorizes the use of the Colorado National Guard “to ensure people can access the resources they need to stay safe during the winter cold snap and storm,” a news release said.
“No one should freeze to death in our state for lack of shelter. We are working with cities and local communities to ensure that everyone has a warm place to go during this extreme cold snap,” Polis said in the release.
Nobody SHOULD BE HOMELESS in our state. Period.