Winter in the northwest rolls around with amazing regularity – and people who live outside find themselves with a heightened need to find a safe and warm place to sleep. Council for the Homeless (CFTH) provides coordinated entry to place people in available shelter beds and share walk-in shelter options through the Housing Hotline (360-695-9677).
Forty-Nine. That is the number of nights that fell below the threshold of 32 degrees or forecasted freezing rain snow or ice this past winter. Winter in the Pacific Northwest is often mild and rainy, but this winter had an unusually high number of severe weather nights, compared to only 17 last winter. These are the nights when the lack of emergency shelter in our community can truly be life threatening.
By Charlene Welch, Council for the Homeless Recently I visited with a client named Maria. We talked over tea. She told me she and husband have custody of their two granddaughters both under age 16. One granddaughter has health challenges...