Boulder to open Extreme Weather Shelter during dangerously cold temperatures in Colorado
The City of Boulder, along with Boulder County and the Boulder Office of Disaster Management, will open a temporary 24-hour Extreme Weather Shelter on Saturday. This coincides with what CBS Colorado First Alert meteorologists have said about an arctic front that will sweep through Colorado Friday afternoon with dangerously cold air and accumulating snow lagging behind it for the holiday weekend. At least 96+ hours will be spent below freezing and two waves of snow are likely.
According to Boulder, the shelter is to ensure all unhoused community members will have a place to get warm or spend the night. Additionally, All Roads Shelter is operating under Critical Weather protocols and will be open for day services throughout the weekend.
"With forecasted temperatures below zero for several nights this weekend into next week, our unsheltered neighbors face a significant risk," said Kurt Firnhaber, director of Housing and Human Services in a statement. "Opening this shelter is a vital life-saving measure to protect some of our most vulnerable community members during these harsh winter conditions."
"I am deeply grateful to our staff, particularly our Housing and Human Services team, for their leadership in bringing this critical resource to our community," said City Manager, Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde in a statement. "I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our community partners and county colleagues for stepping up and collaborating to make this effort possible."
The city and county Extreme Weather Shelter will be set up in the Age Well wing of the East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive, and operate from Saturday, Jan. 18 through at least Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Community members in need of safe shelter are asked to:
- Go to the All Roads Shelter, located at 4869 Broadway. Even if the person typically does not meet the criteria to use All Roads, they must check in here first.
- When All Roads reaches capacity transportation will be provided to the overflow facility at the East Age Well Center.
· Haven Ridge for persons identifying as women, transgender or nonbinary. Learn more on the Haven Ridge website or call 303-447-9602.
· TGTHR's The Source for homeless youth. Youth drop-in will be open 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily for ages 24 and under. Learn more on TGTHR's website or call 303-447-1207.
City staff and partner organizations have been conducting direct outreach throughout the week to people experiencing homelessness to ensure all individuals are aware of the upcoming cold weather, know about available services and have a plan to stay safe during the extreme cold.
The East Boulder Community Center (EBCC) will remain open for regularly scheduled hours during this time, with recreation activities occurring as usual aside from programming in the Age Well wing of EBCC. The East Age Well Center will close at noon on Friday, Jan. 17 and will remain closed through Friday, Jan. 24 to allow for clean-up and full restoration of services. Staff members are working to cancel or reschedule upcoming programs that will be impacted by this closure. Contact Age Well staff at 303-441-3148 for more information.
For more information about EBCC hours and any service modifications, please visit the facility's webpage.
For more information about Homelessness Services in the City of Boulder, visit the city's website. Information about staying safe in cold weather is available on the city's website.