MWVCAA's Cold Weather Shelter 2018-2019

The Church at the Park on Turner Road, one of three 2018-2019 shelters

 

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

The winter of 2017-2018 was cold and controversial.  The weather wasn't nearly as bad (a total of 11  shelter nights in three locations downtown with an average of 76 guests per night) as its timing -- no one wants to see people suffering in the streets during the height of the Christmas season.  See Bach, J. "Salem's first emergency warming shelter brings relief to homeless."  (21 December 2017, Statesman Journal.)

Then in February, the unexpected occurred.  A bureaucratic miracle removed responsibility for Salem's cold-weather shelters from Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency (MWVCAA)'s then Deputy Director, Cyndi Leinassar, and gave it to MWVCAA's then Community Resources Program Director, Jimmy Jones.  Suddenly, the community had resources for cold weather shelters. 
   

"Salem Warming" created for 2018-2019 season

By the fall of 2018, MWVCAA had hired a volunteer coordinator, put up a website, and announced the creation of a Salem Warming Network which proposed to open warming centers when the temp was expected to drop below 33.

There was just one little problem.  The warming centers -- church buildings --  were not approved for use as shelters.  To get around that, the City would have  to declare a "Weather Event Emergency", as it had in 2017.

The Fire Department said no, initially.  The City's standard for what constituted an "emergency" (set while Leinassar was in charge), was three consecutive days when the temp was expected to drop below 28.

The simple "below 33" didn't constitute  a Weather Event Emergency.

There had to be a work-around.  Per Assistant Fire Department Chief Greg Hadley, it was determined/agreed that the warming centers could be opened a maximum of 90 days in a calendar year on these conditions:  they had to be identified and inspected. If the building did not have a sprinkler system, people had to sleep on the ground floor.  There had to be smoke and CO2 alarms, at least two exit/entrances, an emergency evacuation plan, a fire watch posted, maximum occupancy of 1 person per 50sf, rules posted and compliance documented.  Hadley told us that the solution seemed to work well, and could be applied next season (2019-2020).

The Network website offered/offers visitors basic information about hours, locations, transportation, training opportunities, sign ups, and program changes.

The 2018-19 program looked like this (info taken from a FB post)(compare the volunteer manual):

Three locations, not all downtown:  First Presbyterian Church in CANDO, Church at the Park, and South Salem Friends Church can accommodate 190 total.

Fewer volunteers per shift/per night  than previously.  At First Presbyterian Church, they were reportedly:

Shift 1: 6:30p - 11:00p ~ 7

Shift 2: 10:30p - 3:30a ~ 5

Shift 3: 3:00a - 7:30a ~ 7

A "lead" on every shift arrived early to set up floor mats and the "beverage station" (decaf, sugar substitute at night).  Leads were familiar with most of the guests, and responsible to assign duties, taking preferences into account.  Training on how to be a lead was available.

Other roles:

outside greeter - lets ppl know they will need to check all property (including food, drink, meds) except coat, cell phone, book

inside greeter - welcomes and record name on numbered roster and wrist band (like in a hospital)

bike mgr - checks in and locks bikes (outside)

property mgr - record name/roster number of any personal items on tag(s), hand to bagger  

bagger - bag property and attach tag(s)

runner - take bags to secured storage room

property room mgr - stage and organize property in numeric order

blanket mgr - hand out new or reserved blankets (returning guests)

beverage station workers - offer hospitality, keep area tidy, monitor supplies in cooperation with host church volunteers

hall and bathroom monitors or floater - (as in school)

sleeping area monitor - respond to questions, clean and de-escalate as needed 

patrol - walk "the perimeter" checking that doors are locked, encouraging anyone hanging around outside to come in and get warm

3d shift/closers - make coffee, wake guests, sanitize and stow mats, bag and label blankets, tidy area 

As in years past, Willamette Valley Yellow Cab provided rides to and between shelters.  Animals/pets were allowed, and did not need to be crated as long as they were leashed and under control.       

Lowering the standard for activation added 31 nights, for a total of 42 in 2018-2019.  Salem shelters were opened 14 nights in November and December, and 7 in January.

By the end of January, MWVCAA had determined that volunteer labor would not be sufficient to meet the demands of running even two cold-weather, emergency shelters under the new criteria.  So, they announced they'd be hiring 8-10 "Warming Representatives" to be on call to help out until the season closed March 31.  Unfortunately, the decision was not made in time to avert a shortage during an extended February cold snap, when flu was also making rounds.  At one point, the Marion County court was even ordering offenders to do community service at the shelters.

On February 5, 20 people seeking shelter were turned away.  See Brynelson, T. "As cold snap lingers, warming shelters face volunteer shortage and potential closures."  6 February 2019, Salem Reporter.), Harbarger, M. "Cold weather homeless shelters stay open for fourth night."  (6 February 2019, Oregonian.)  According to Salem Reporter, MWVCAA had about 125 active volunteers, and needed about 300.  Through media, social media and other forms of appeal, MWVCAA managed to add another 204 volunteers, for a total of 329 at season's end.  An estimated 922 (+ 5-10%) unique individuals received shelter through this effort. 

So what did all this cost?  Not counting the in-kind donations from Willamette Valley Yellow Cab and members of the community, roughly $82K.  The biggest cost, as usual, was staff.  A volunteer coordinator plus paid staff shifts cost MWVCAA about $50K.  The remaining $32K was half heating, half everything else (repairs, mats, blankets, licenses, supplies).  The City of Salem provided $16K in "utility stipends" to the churches to cover additional heating costs (that's roughly $900/mo per location), and "everything else" was paid for by the host sites ($10K) and MWVCAA ($6K).

Looking to next winter, MWVCAA reports having applied for a $100K grant from the City of Salem (presumably from General Fund and/or CDBG social services fund) for next year.  Asked about the plan should the City award the grant, Jones, who is now MWVCAA's executive director, stated,

We would use the $100,000 to subsidize the costs of expanded warming, which include a full time coordinator and paid shift leads.  Volunteer models are not fully adequate to cover either the cost or manpower needed to successfully provide warming throughout the winter.  If possible we would like to continue to expand winter warming to something that more closely resembles a duration model.

(A "duration model" shelter would open and remain open for a given period [the "duration"] versus the current model shelter, which opens and remains open only if certain circumstances exist.)