FAQs
Q. What is a warming center?
A: Short-term emergency shelter that operates when temperatures become dangerously low.
Q: How is a warming center different than a homeless shelter?
A: Warming centers provide temporary overnight shelter during extremely cold temperatures, while homeless shelters operate year-round, in all weather and offer more support services such as food, showers, case management, and longer-term housing opportunities.
Q: Why do we need a warming center?
A: The average temperatures in Cache Valley between the months of December - March can range between highs of 28 degrees during the day and lows of 18 degrees at night. Currently, no public safety procedures are in place that would provide a safe overnight location for our unhoused community members to avoid risk of death or injury from hypothermia and frostbite.
Q: Who will be helped by the warming center?
A: An estimated 200 people in Cache and Box Elder counties were unhoused during the 2022 Point In Time Count. These people range from single adults to families with children, including working families.
Q: What safety precautions are in place?
A: Guests of the W.A.B. Warming Center will sign an agreement to follow policies and will be supervised by on-site staff. Guests who choose not to follow the agreement will be asked to leave the facility for up to 48 hours. Guests will not be allowed to loiter outside the building or in the parking lot after the center closes for the day.
Q: How will the W.A.B. Warming Center impact my community?
A: There will be no foreseeable negative impacts. In fact, having a warming center will make our community safer by getting people inside to an actively supervised, central location that is close to local emergency services. The center will encourage community collaboration and unity through the opportunity to volunteer and interact with guests utilizing it services.