UPDATE: Salem warming shelter to open nightly, through Friday
Salem First Presbyterian Church will open its warming shelter Tuesday through Friday night in response to nighttime temperatures expected to reach below freezing.
The church, at 770 Chemeketa St. N.E., will be open to adults over age 18 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Jan. 20 through 23, according to the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, which coordinates warming shelters in the region.
Salem’s overnight warming shelters activate when temperatures reach below freezing.
The church’s shelter has opened every night this week since Saturday, and Salem residents woke to frost-covered windows and sidewalks Tuesday morning. Temperatures will reach a low of around 29 degrees Tuesday night and 28 degrees Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.
The service predicts freezing temperatures each night through Saturday.
The warming shelter network is still looking for volunteers. To learn more about how to volunteer, see the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency’s website.
The Santiam Warming Shelter is also seeking volunteers to open their shelter on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Learn more here.
Sue Crothers, who coordinates warming for the church, said they’ve seen more guests at the shelter every night as the cold weather has persisted. Thirty people and two dogs stayed Saturday night, and 55 people and 7 pets stayed Sunday night.
Crothers said Tuesday night’s soup will either be a Mexican wedding soup, which typically has pasta and meatballs, or a creamy chicken and wild rice soup. There will also be instant noodle cups, oatmeal and snack bars.
Crothers said that the first few nights were successful, and that she’s seen about five new volunteers helping in the kitchen this season.
“I’m super excited that we’re getting younger people,” Crothers said.
Guests with cars can park in the church lot in order to enter the warming shelter, but will be asked to leave when the shelter closes at 7 a.m.
Cherriots will be offering free rides to and from the warming shelter. No documentation is needed; riders just need to tell the driver where they’re heading.
The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency will also be opening warming shelters in Dallas and Woodburn both nights. See their locations and their opening status here.
To sign up to receive warming shelter alerts from the action agency, text “Marion” or “Polk” to 503-946-3966. To reach the agency, call 503-399-9080.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday, after an announcement from the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency that the shelter would also open Thursday and Friday night.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
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A couple of questions:
Where do families go?
What happens if ICE arrives?
Can guests clean up (shower, wash clothes, etc) there or somewhere else ?
I have wondered about the people that you spoke to in the camp that you visited a week or two ago.
A great report!
Thx,
Jeff