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Jan. 11—Boulder County shelters are preparing for the Arctic cold front forecast for the weekend by expanding hours and capacity to provide people experiencing homelessness with a warm place to stay.
The National Weather Service is expecting an Arctic cold front to move in Friday night, pushing temperatures into the single digits on Saturday and below zero Saturday night. The coldest temperatures are forecast for Sunday and Monday nights. Boulder's overnight low on Sunday is forecast to be minus 4. Snow also is likely Sunday and Monday.
Boulder, in partnership with Boulder County and the Boulder Office of Disaster Management, is opening a temporary 24-hour emergency warming center over the weekend to ensure all community members seeking shelter have a space to get warm or spend the night, according to a news release.
"We have been monitoring the weather throughout the week and given the forecast shift to temperatures below zero for several days with wind chills as low as negative 15 degrees, our unsheltered neighbors are at a significant risk. To protect as many lives as possible, we are opening an emergency warming shelter," Kurt Firnhaber, Boulder's director of Housing and Human Services, said in the news release.
The Boulder Shelter for the Homeless will be open for critical weather nights through Monday. The shelter also will remain open all day Saturday through Monday for those who stay overnight. Shelter staff members also plan to monitor the forecast to determine if services should be offered for additional days.
The city and county overflow warming center will be set up in the Age Well wing of the East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive, and operate from Friday evening through Tuesday morning.
Community members in need of safe shelter are asked to first go to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless at 4869 Broadway. Even those who typically don't meet criteria to use the shelter must check in there first. If the shelter reaches capacity, people will receive free transportation to Boulder's East Age Well Center at 5660 Sioux Drive.
Officials also will offer transportation from downtown Boulder to the homeless shelter, with Via adding two more buses to get residents to the shelter from downtown through Monday evening.
Haven Ridge, previously the Lodge and Mother House, will offer shelter for those who identify as women, transgender or nonbinary. TGTHR's The Source will offer shelter for homeless youth. Youth drop-in will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for ages 24 and under
The Longmont nonprofit Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement, or HOPE, provides overnight shelter year-round for clients who follow certain criteria, such as applying for shelter through Boulder County's coordinated entry program. Those requirements are set aside, however, during extremely cold weather.
Shelter Director Laura Denton said HOPE will offer overnight severe weather sheltering through Wednesday, as well as keep its shelter open from 5:30 p.m. Friday through 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Shelter will be available at Longmont's Messiah Lutheran Church, 1335 Francis St., on Friday and Saturday, including during the day on Saturday. Starting Sunday, shelter will be available through Wednesday at Longmont's Journey Church, 2000 Pike Road, including during the day on Sunday and Monday.
Denton said the decision was made to provide emergency shelter because lows are expected to be below zero, there's a wind chill warning and snow is possible.
"With this wind, it just adds to the frigidness," Denton said. "And when the cold comes after being so warm, I feel like people aren't very prepared."
HOPE also is requesting donations of hats, gloves, coats and hand warmers, which can be dropped off at the daytime shelters.
For more information on the Boulder Homeless Shelter, visit bouldershelter.org. For information on Boulder homeless resources, visit bouldercolorado.gov/services/homelessness-services.
For more information on Haven Ridge, visit havenridgeboulder.org or call 303-447-9602. For more information on TGTHR, visit tgthr.org or call 303-447-1207
For more information on HOPE Longmont resources, visit hopeforlongmont.org.
The Denver Post contributed to this report.
