Starting Thursday, the city’s cold weather shelter will provide a warm place to sleep on nights where the temperature dips below freezing.
On nights where the temperature goes below 32 degrees, the shelter will be open from 11 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., according to a City and Borough of Juneau information release Tuesday. The forecast for Thursday night predicts temperatures to get into the 20s, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
The shelter is located in the former public safety building at 450 Whittier Street and will provide beds for up to 28 people a night. The CBJ Assembly approved $75,000 to fund the operation of the shelter, and the CBJ has partnered with Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies (AWARE), the Glory Hall shelter and St. Vincent de Paul to have two staff members on site at all times when the shelter is open.
Last winter, the shelter was open on 70 nights and served 158 people.
CBJ staff will coordinate with the National Weather Service in Juneau to track the temperature. CBJ staff will notify people with signs at the shelter site, the Glory Hall and at St. Vincent de Paul. Online, notices will be posted on the CBJ Facebook and Twitter pages as well as the CBJ Housing Program website.
This facility is only for sleeping, and people who are interested in donating food or clothing should donate them to organizations that accept those year-round, including the Glory Hall and St. Vincent de Paul. People with more questions can contact CBJ Chief Housing Officer Scott Ciambor at 586-0220 or scott.ciambor@juneau.org.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
Cots and a blanket wait for homeless people at a new warming shelter in the old Public Safety Building on Whittier Street on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
