#warmingcenters — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #warmingcenters, aggregated by home.social.
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When #Maine #WarmingCenters can’t keep up with demand: ‘We are tasked with life and death decisions’
Advocates say #overnight facilities are essential in Maine, but services are limited and it is increasingly difficult to meet the need in communities, including those in #YorkCounty.
by Gillian Graham, January 11, 2026
BIDDEFORD — "Vassie Fowler feels a heavy burden when the doors of the warming center open.
"On the top floor of a former church, more than 50 homeless people unfold antigravity chairs and blankets to settle in and try to sleep each night. On evenings when temperatures dip into the single digits, the center will squeeze in up to 60.
But Seeds of Hope can’t make room for everyone." 'We know if we say no, there’s no other option for people,' said Fowler, executive director of the nonprofit on South Street. 'We are tasked with what feels like life and death decisions.'
"Advocates for the homeless population say warming centers are essential in Maine, where it can be dangerous and deadly to go unsheltered during winter months. But in a state with limited services, they say it is increasingly difficult to meet the need in many communities, including those in #YorkCounty, where there are no spots at overnight facilities for most of the hundreds of people who are homeless.
In September, Gov. Janet Mills and MaineHousing announced $2.3 million in grants to support 12 emergency warming centers across the state this winter in Bangor, Portland, Ellsworth, Presque Isle, Waterville, Lewiston, Biddeford, Sanford, Augusta and Brunswick."Some, like Seeds of Hope, are open every night.
"Others are more restricted: Portland only opens its shelter when the temperature is below 15 degrees or more than 10 inches of snow are expected; and in Sanford, the only center has 16 beds and is limited to families with children.
"People who are unsheltered in Sanford feel helpless and discouraged, said Rebecca Jackson, co-founder of It Takes a Village 207, a nonprofit that provides support and resources to people in the city.
" 'When temperatures reach dangerously low levels, access to warmth is not a luxury — it is a matter of survival,' Jackson said. 'Without accessible, low-barrier places to warm up, people are left with impossible choices that put their health and lives at risk.'
[...]
"On Wednesday afternoon, 28-year-old Brooke Paul huddled near a doorway at a shopping plaza in downtown Sanford. She said she has been homeless for six years and sleeps in a tent in the woods near a walking trail.
"During the day, she tries to warm up by going into local businesses until she is asked to leave. At night, she layers her clothes and uses as many blankets as she can.
" 'The other night was freezing. It sucks,' she said. She wishes there was a nearby warming center.
" 'Why wouldn’t there be?' she said."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/6zqQD
@newsbot#Unhoused #Homeless #Houseless #ArcticBlast #PolarVortex #ExtremeCold #OvernightShelters #WarmingShelters #WarmingSheltersInMaine
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Opinion: We should remember unhoused people when a severe snowstorm hits
Here we go again. #Toronto’s annual open-and-shut Band-Aid operation of emergency shelters for inclement weather.Updated Jan. 15, 2026
By Cathy Crowe Contributor"Here we go again. Toronto’s annual open-and-shut Band-Aid operation of emergency shelters for inclement weather.
"I’m used to city councillors fighting hard for their communities — whether it’s for transit, schools, safe roads, libraries or parks — but none of them questioned why their Scarborough, East York, York, North York or Etobicoke wards had no cool centres.
"Instead, it appears they believe a single 24/7 cooling centre, likely operating in the lobby at Metro Hall, will be sufficient for everyone needing respite across a city that spans 43 km east to west and 21 km north to south. This despite the city’s own 2024 Street Needs Assessment that counted more than 1,600 people living outside and shelter data that documented more than 150 people per day denied shelter due to lack of space.
Toronto has botched its approaches to protect vulnerable people during extreme weather."
Source:
https://www.thestar.com/rolling-file/opinion-we-should-remember-unhoused-people-when-a-severe-snowstorm-hits/article_0ccef729-53aa-455e-bf22-69106af3e072.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/Ek5Fc#EmergencyPreparedness #EmergencyShelters #ExtremeWeather #ClimateChange #WarmingCenters #CoolingCenters #Housing4All #TorontoON #Ontario #Canada
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#Ohio - Two Columbus warming centers open, more planned. See locations, hours
by Danae King Danae King, Updated Dec. 4, 2025
"Two overnight winter warming centers are now open in Columbus, but people experiencing homelessness have fewer options than they did this time last year as temperatures threaten to dip into the single digits.
"There were five overnight winter warming centers open locally last year, though the Community Shelter Board is planning to open two more in January.
Columbus post-snow forecast: Get ready for single-digit temperatures, Columbus."The delay is due to a new strategy of pacing openings, said Steve Skovensky, chief system effectiveness officer at the Community Shelter Board, a nonprofit that coordinates funding for local agencies that serve people experiencing homelessness.
"It typically has $2 million per year to use for winter warming centers, which open on Dec. 1 and close at the end of March, Skovensky said. This year, they opened on Nov. 26 due to dropping temperatures.
"But fewer opened than during early December 2024, when there were four overnight warming centers available for those experiencing homelessness. A fifth center for youth opened after Columbus City Council contributed additional funding in mid-December 2024, Skovensky said.
"More warming centers are planned to open in January because winter weather warnings typically increase during that month, Skovensky said, as does warming center use. Phasing openings allows capacity to be more flexible when there's significant severe weather, he said.
" 'We're definitely planning on the resources we have, wanting to make sure we use the resources to the best possible extent,' Skovensky said. '(We're) looking at where the highest need is. ... We're trying to pace where the most impact is needed.'
"The additional overnight warming centers will open on Jan. 1, with one on the South Side and one on the North Side, which will work specifically with transition-aged youth ages 18 to 24, he said.
"Overnight warming centers are an alternative option for those who don't want to or cannot stay in a traditional shelter, Skovensky said, due to a myriad of reasons, including overcrowded conditions, past trauma and more. They may also take away barriers for people, as some allow pets, welcome couples without children to stay together, accommodate more possessions and host fewer people, allowing more privacy than a traditional shelter might, Skovensky said.
Where are the Columbus warming centers?
"There is only one publicly available overnight warming center right now in Columbus. It is the Third Shift Warming/Cooling Center at First English Lutheran Church,1015 E. Main St. on the Near East Side. It is open 24/7 and is co-ed and pet-friendly. There is room for 20 overnight guests, with 20 more beds to be available in January for a total of 40, Skovensky said.
"The other overnight warming center is available by referral only and has a capacity for 40 beds in 20 rooms. It is at a former hotel on the North Side, Skovensky said."
#Unhoused #Homeless #Houseless #WarmingCenters #ExtremeCold #ColumbusOH #PolarVortex
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Staying warm: Overnight winter #WarmingCenters open in #Maine
There are several shelters that are open all winter long in Maine, in addition to ones that open when conditions get dangerous
by Adam Bartow, December 2, 2025
AUGUSTA, Maine — "Winter has arrived in Maine and that means snow and cold. It also means many people will be looking for places to stay warm.
There are several winter-long overnight warming shelters that are now open.
The new Alter L/A Emergency Warming Shelter opened on Monday on Horton Street in #LewistonME. That shelter, the first of its kind in #AndroscogginCounty, is open 24/7 for the winter.
In #AugustaME, the South Parish Congregational Church at 34 Bridge St. is open from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. every day from Nov. 1 until April 30 for people to get warm.
There are two overnight warming shelters in #BangorME. The Mansion Church at 96 Center St. is open from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. every day from Nov. 1 until March 31.
The Brick Church at 126 Union St. in Bangor is open from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. from Nov. 15 until April 15. The door there locks at 9 p.m. and no one is allowed in after that. There is a community supper on weekdays between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Work is underway on a new warming center at the Somesville Union Meeting House at 1134 Main St. in #MountDesertME. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as needed, but does not have overnight accommodations. The goal is for this shelter to be open starting Jan. 12, 2026."
Source:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/winter-warming-centers-open-maine/69602338#WarmingCenter #WarmingShelters #WarmingCenters
#Maine #PortlandME #Unhoused #ExtremeCold #Homeless