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04-19-2024 9:02 am • PDX and SEA Weather
MLK Breakfast
PORTLAND (Feb. 12, 2021) — The City of Portland/Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services and Multnomah County Emergency Management will open severe weather shelters and some warming spaces for a second night Friday, Feb. 12. Outreach workers will also continue to distribute cold-weather gear and share word about shelters with people surviving outside.
(Photo/Motoya Nakamura/ Multnomah County)
County officials expect these shelters will continue to open overnight for the next several days, through the weekend, but will announce that definitively each day. People should also call 2-1-1 or go to 211info.org for the latest information on what’s available and to obtain rides as needed.
Also starting Friday, there is additional capacity for people seeking shelter. More sleeping areas have been added to the 24-hour Metro Garage shelter and warming space, as workers from the County continued to settle into that new space, bringing capacity there up to 116.
That means there are now roughly the same number of beds available on a given night of severe weather this year as there were during past years.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of the sites that opened in past years during severe weather will not be open this year, because of COVID-19.
Instead, these three sites offering a total of 328 beds will be open and available:
(Photo/Motoya Nakamura/ Multnomah County)Severe weather shelters do not require identification or any other documentation for entry. Medical Reserve Corps volunteers also continue to visit each of the sites to provide triage care.
Survival kits with life-saving gear — tents, sleeping bags, warm clothing, etc. — will also be distributed as needed at each of the three severe weather shelter sites.
Sign up directly to receive weather alerts from 211 through 211info.org. Other privately funded shelter sites may also be available, and 211 can provide information about accessing those sites, as well.
Also this year, two warming spaces, with staff or volunteers on hand, are available where people won't be able to sleep but can come in and warm up, and receive gear and survival kits. They are:
People in need of shelter in east County can also come to Sunrise Center to receive MAX tickets for a free trip to the Oregon Convention Center or Metro Garage shelters. Both of which are on the same line as Sunrise Center. Cab rides will also be available to anyone who's not able to use MAX.
Severe weather shelters and warming sites, just like year-round and seasonal shelters funded by the Joint Office, will be fully compliant with COVID-19 health and safety protocols, including requirements for physical distancing and face coverings.
This year, rapid COVID-19 testing will be offered to those seeking a bed at Oregon Convention Center, given the larger numbers of those seeking shelter there, with transportation available as needed to anyone who shows a positive rapid test and needs to go to one of Multnomah County's voluntary isolation motels.
Symptom checks will be offered at Arbor Lodge. Someone who has symptoms can be transported to the Oregon Convention Center for a rapid test or to the Metro Garage, where symptom checks will not be required.
Testing will take place at the Convention Center until 10 p.m. or until capacity at the Convention Center is reached. People who seek shelter after that point can be directed to the Metro Garage shelter.
The Joint Office and its providers will also be distributing life-saving cold-weather gear to those in need. That work has been an even more important part of the Joint Office’s response to cold and severe weather this season.
A specially assigned group of outreach workers has been handing out gear every night this season when temperatures dipped below freezing, even when severe weather shelters weren’t open. Those workers have covered the County in the days before this current severe weather event, as forecasts showed severe weather was increasingly likely.
Outreach workers have been giving out life-saving gear for several days in preparation of this event, distributing approximately 600 blankets, 900 sleeping bags, 2,000 hand warmers, and 4,000 pieces of cold-weather clothing.
Gear will also be available for distribution at the severe weather sites for those who need it.
To support that work, service providers and the Joint Office continue to call for community donations of winter gear.
Items especially important to donate include gently used or new winter shoes and boots, waterproof hats, gloves, blankets, tarps and coats. More information on what to donate, and where to take it, is at 211info.org/donations. Providers have online shopping lists available through that link, meaning you can donate directly to providers from your phone or computer — supporting vital work while also maintaining physical distancing.
If you see someone outside unsheltered whose life appears to be serious in danger or is in an apparent medical crisis, call 911 to alert first responders. Otherwise, if you see someone about whom you are concerned, such as not being dressed for the weather conditions, call police non-emergency (503) 823-3333 and request a welfare check for that person.
To help someone find shelter and arrange transportation to shelter during cold or severe weather, please call 2-1-1.
