SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane has seen some extreme winter weather this February. Single-digit temperatures and many consecutive days of snowfall have made things uncomfortable for the average resident and potentially dangerous for people without homes.
To deal with that danger, the city is currently operating four warming centers.
Three of those are operated by the Guardians Foundation. The foundation's executive director Michael Shaw said the centers saw a huge influx of people when the mild January transitioned to a harsh February.
"Our numbers [are] pretty much double what they typically are," he said. "We always operate at just about capacity, but when you combine the snow with the bitter cold, the individuals find their way to shelter."
To accommodate more people, Guardians has increased staff, found ways to add more spaces to the existing centers, and coordinated between locations to help transport people from overflowing centers to ones with space.
Guardians operates a private bus system. That's become especially important, as common means of transportation like bicycles have been rendered all but useless by the snow.
"It's virtually impossible to trudge through the snow," Shaw said. "We have had a mild winter up until the last three weeks, but here in the last three weeks that transportation system has really proven its worth as well as far as getting these individuals to where they need to be."
Still, the weather has posed challenges to the bus system itself as well.
"Winter conditions in any driving situation is a concern but we've been able to maintain operations every single night I think except for one," Shaw said.
Low temperatures are always dangerous to those on the streets. Many people die from exposure every year.
"And if we can reduce that number by one, this whole project that the city has put together has been a success," Shaw said.
While the warming centers have been in use for a few months now, it's really in the past few weeks of harsh weather that they've become most important.
"Having an operation like this during this inclement weather has given them a place to gather, to where they feel a sense of community," he said, adding that that sense of community is actually somewhat strengthened by cold and snow. "People try to get along. They know it's a desperate situation outside."