More people experiencing homelessness in King County will have a warm bed Monday night.
Officials announced that 50 extra shelter beds will be available at the King County Administration Building in Seattle starting Monday through Wednesday night.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said if the cold weather continues or if another storm system comes through, the shelter time will be extended past Wednesday night.
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“No one should have to be outside in this weather, and I want to make sure that people know that the resources are here,” said Constantine. “Come here to 4th and Jefferson, and if we’re full here, we will try to direct you to another site that is available.”
The City of Seattle and the Salvation Army opened a severe weather shelter at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Sunday night that will run through the night of February 10. The shelter was initially scheduled to close after Tuesday night but was extended due to the forecast and freezing overnight temperatures. This shelter is open to men and women 18 and older and is open from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.
“We really invite people to come in. These are shelters that have no expectations, they are really designed to keep people alive and warm at night. They take all folks,” said Regional Housing and Community Development Manager Mark Ellerbrook.
“We have even more resources in the pipeline that are going to help people that are living with homelessness,” said Constantine. “For example, we have just put into place some modular units down in SoDo on some metro property we are not using right now. And that is going to be available for people that are in shelters now or that are on the streets, to be able to be there 24 hours a day in two-person rooms, full bath. They’ll have services on site, and that is the place where we can help them start to build momentum to get back toward their own home and self-sufficiency.”
A storm brought multiple inches of snow to parts of the Puget Sound area Sunday. Though snowfall was predicted to stop by Monday afternoon, temperatures were expected to drop to the teens overnight. Wind chills could be in the single digits.
The Jefferson Day Center in downtown Seattle was open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. according to officials.
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