At least 44 people stayed at the overflow shelter at the East Age Well Center on Saturday night, a City of Boulder official said, as temperatures dropped to dangerous lows during this weekend’s cold front.
The City of Boulder, Boulder County and the Office of Disaster Management have opened the Age Well wing of the East Boulder Community Center as a temporary 24-hour emergency warming center for people experiencing homelessness. The shelter, located at 5660 Sioux Drive, will remain open until Tuesday morning, according to the city.
People have set up mats to sleep on the floor, and there are at least six portable toilets outside the center’s entrance. The shelter provides showers, snacks and hot drinks. At least one person was at the overflow shelter with their dog. (The Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, the city’s main shelter, typically prohibits dogs unless they are service animals.)
The situation inside the East Age Well Center appeared more organized and quiet compared to December 2022, when more than 100 people stayed at the emergency shelter that the city opened in response to a similar cold snap.
Temperatures were forecast to reach minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit in the City of Boulder on Sunday night, with wind chill temperatures as low as minus 14.
City outreach staff and law enforcement officials have located approximately 20 people who continue to decline shelter, Shannon Aulabaugh, a spokesperson for the city, told Boulder Reporting Lab in an email on Sunday, Jan. 14.
“We are doing our best to keep an eye on these people and continue to offer our assistance,” Aulabaugh said.
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 Boulder Shelter for the Homeless 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 has said.
How do the 20 who refuse survive?
Thanks to the City of Boulder and the Homeless Shelter for providing shelter for all who want it these last few days.
It diminishes each of us if we turn our backs on those who need help. I don’t much care why or how often they need help. Not everyone’s life path has led them to a Telsa.