As the temperatures drop, the risk of death or serious illness for people experiencing homelessness rises significantly. Local shelters are preparing to provide a place to stay warm and safe during winter weather.
Cincinnati's winter shelter, operated by Shelter House at 411 Gest Street in Queensgate, opened Thursday. It will stay open during evenings throughout the winter for up to 200 single individuals experiencing homelessness. Its hours are 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, at 436 W. 13th Street in Covington, started its winter operations Nov. 1. It provides shelter for all adults 18 or over on a first-come, first-served basis. The line starts at 5 p.m. and intake begins at 5:30 pm.
But what about people experiencing homelessness in rural areas? Welcome House operates a program in Boone County that provides hotel rooms during dangerous winter weather to county residents experiencing homelessness.
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CEO Danielle Amrine says the challenges operating the program are different than the ones you'd find operating an urban shelter.
"A lot of the individuals we work with specifically in Boone County are more rural," she says. "They're people you wouldn't normally see. They're deep into the woods. They're in encampments. They're maybe hidden in industrial parks. So our street outreach teams know where those camps are. They go out and build relationships and talk with those individuals."
Building that trust before the weather presents an emergency situation is important, Amrine says, because some people experiencing rural homelessness might be hesitant to enter shelter.
"Maybe they have a distrusting relationship with organizations or the health care system, or they don't want to leave their encampments in fear of them being torn down or other individuals coming in and taking their items. So there are very complex dynamics."
Last winter Boone County officials activated the program five times. It provided 44 nights of shelter for 125 people experiencing homelessness. The winter prior to that, the program served 167 people — many during a period of extremely frigid weather.
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"During these severe weather incidents, we can be sheltering up to 65 or 75 individuals at a time," Amrine says. "Our street outreach teams are going out into the community and finding these people."
The program is activated via an executive order by the Boone County Judge/Executive. It's funded by Boone County's Mental Health & Intellectual Disability Tax. Officials in Boone County are watching local forecasts now to determine when it might be necessary to begin providing shelter.