Out of a concern about the needs of homeless people who may not have a way to get warm during extreme winter weather, the City of Spokane has selected and contracted with two social service agencies to be designated as “warming centers” for homeless people in preparation for winter, according to a press release. Volunteers of America Hope House has been chosen as the warming center for single women, and The Salvation Army has been selected to serve single men, families with children and couples without children. The Volunteers of America Crosswalk will serve as an on-call warming center for youth.
These sites, which are not set up for lodging, will be activated during periods of extreme cold weather at the request of the City through Feb. 28 when the temperature falls below 20 degrees. These sites will be available in addition to regular homeless shelters located throughout Spokane, allowing more people to get out of the cold.
Temperatures are expected to drop later this month.