Warming Center expands hours during arctic blast
Traffic travels along the Kalispell Bypass as snow falls on Tuesday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
The Flathead Warming Center in Kalispell will be open all day Wednesday and Thursday to take in members of the homeless population during the winter storm forecasted to hit the area.
The no-barrier shelter usually operates during night time hours, but is expanding its services during the cold snap, during which temperatures are predicted to reach as low as minus 30F.
According to Flathead Warming Center Director Tonya Horn, the shelter has 50 beds and the staff required to operate for those two days. The shelter has had to turn away people in recent days because of capacity issues.
The Samaritan House in Kalispell will also be accommodating people in need of shelter, and has at least 50 additional beds between their two campuses, which include their administrative offices located at the old Army Reserve center.
According to Samaritan House director Chris Krager, the last estimate of the county’s homeless population was around 230 people, although the annual count was conducted almost a full year ago.
According to Krager, the armory location is large enough to expand capacity, but to do so would require donations of food and additional volunteers.
Krager also said that the shelter has received its annual shipment of winter coats, and that they have enough for everyone who may need one, homeless or not.
Both shelters have said that their outreach efforts alerting the unhoused population have gone well. Krager said that in his drive to check the “usual spots,” he found that most were empty, something he took to be a good sign of people finding shelter.
According to Flathead County Office of Emergency Services official Juanita Nelson, if a power outage displaces any additional people, the county will call the Red Cross to set up a shelter at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.
According to Nelson, most people in the valley choose to stay with friends or family, or opt for a hotel stay if they lose power. She cited the recent wind storm that triggered power outages across the county, during which she said only two people contacted her office for emergency shelter.
“We’re pretty resilient,” she said.
Daily Inter Lake Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at aknowler@dailyinterlake.com