Winter’s return leaves local homeless in the cold

On the same day that two warming shelters were scheduled to close for the season, snow and cold temperatures rudely interrupted springtime.

A new Salvation Army shelter on Weber Street that opened last November, closed on Thursday as scheduled and didn’t reopen despite the weather and the demand from the homeless.

“It’s because of staffing,” said Anne Beer of the local United Way. “People were hired for a particular period of time — from the 1st of November to the 15th of April — and have gone on to other jobs, so they really don’t have the capacity to keep that one open any more.”

The Salvation Army shelter has a capacity of 150 and its closing sent homeless people pouring into the nearby Springs Rescue Mission’s warming shelter. It has a capacity of 57 and staff decided to remain open for Thursday night only.

“That situation could change, but it’s doubtful,” said mission spokesman Tim Gore. “So we still need to take care of our neighbors and the way we do that is (through) donations of sleeping bags, ponchos, anything like that, that’s going to keep somebody dry in these elements.”

Gore said demand for the shelter was such that the staff held a lottery to determine who would get the beds.

“We had to turn away dozens probably,” he said.

Timothy Locke was among the lucky recipients.

“I’m very thankful,” he said. “The standby list was four times longer tonight. Maybe even six times longer than it has been. The cold weather hits and there’s just no place for anybody to go. I got a bed, so I lucked out.”

The Salvation Army’s traditional homeless shelter on Sierra Madre Street helped out by providing 30 overflow beds.

Beer said organizers will look for ways to keep shelters open longer if needed, in case the weather once again doesn’t follow what we expect on the calendar.