Warming shelters are a life-saving resource. They shield those of us who are houseless, and they sustain those of us needing extra heating assistance such as a senior whose home has lost power.
It’s heartwarming that Hazel’s House of Hope plans to provide an emergency warming shelter this year on top of its growing role hosting a homeless shelter, sobriety center and more. But is the City of Morgantown shifting its responsibility to provide critical community infrastructure where people need it most?
As the Dominion Post recently opined (DP-11-17-21), Morgantown needs a warming station downtown, where many public services are. This would doubtless improve accessibility for the most people.
The editorial explored one risk of relying on a patchwork of volunteers for critical community infrastructure. “Hazel House is asking for volunteers to provide rides for people who don’t catch the last bus at 8 p.m., but a night short on volunteers may leave some people in the cold — literally.”
For an alternative model of public warming shelters, we can examine the example of Elkins. Our Randolph County neighbor of about 7,000 residents has a homeless shelter in the downtown area as well as a domestic violence shelter. Despite these year-round resources, the community acknowledges an acute need for emergency shelter during the coldest months.
Emergency warming shelters open throughout the county as the weather requires, under the guidance of the Randolph County Office of Emergency Management. Shelters are available in fire stations in several communities throughout the county for greater accessibility, including the fire station in downtown Elkins. Surely our city with four times the population — seven times the population in winter, with WVU students — can build a home for critical community infrastructure downtown.
Marly Ynigues