Fresno’s warming centers are a help to the unhoused this winter. Keep the effort going | Opinion

Update: Since publication of this editorial, Mayor Jerry Dyer’s office announced that the warming centers will remain open through February, except the one at Pinedale. It will be open through Wednesday night.

Original editorial:

Winter is only about half over, but Fresno has already seen a share of nights with temperatures falling into the 30s. Couple that with the storms that have dropped twice as much rain as usual, and the evenings are indeed damp and chilly.

Imagine trying to stay warm on a sidewalk with only a thin blanket, if you are fortunate enough to have one. An unhoused person may not even possess such a wrapping.

So kudos to Fresno city leaders for having warming centers available for unhoused people to seek shelter on cold nights. According to City Councilmember Miguel Arias, nearly 200 people an evening are finding refuge from the cold and wet at the four warming centers being operated 24 hours a day.

But the city’s current declaration for warming centers only goes through Wednesday night. Come Thursday morning, the centers are set to close.

Mayor Jerry Dyer and the council should extend center operations through February, as it is one of the peak rain months of the year and can still have overnight lows in the 30s.

Not only helping Fresnans

The city has warming operations at the following community centers: Ted C. Wills, Maxie L. Parks, Mosqueda and Pinedale. Pets are allowed inside, and Fresno Area Transportation offers free bus rides to the select centers, along existing routes.

Cots are set up for sleeping, and unhoused people seeking shelter also get two meals provided by the Poverello House.

Not only people from Fresno are being helped. Arias said he has met guests from Sanger, Clovis, Reedley and even Coarsegold, who came into town during the big rains last month.

Arias noted that changing weather patterns means keeping warming centers going longer in the winter. Conversely, those places become cooling centers in the summer when high temperatures jump above 105 degrees.

The centers displace adult recreation, Arias noted, but youth programs can still be accommodated.

“It is the most practical solution we have,” he said. “Community centers are designed to be facilities for emergencies.”

The warming centers have cost about $211,000 to operate so far, Arias said, and if they stayed open for the rest of this month, another $100,000 would be added to the expense. The city has the money in its general fund to keep the warming centers going, he said.

The effort is well worth it if it can keep someone alive, or from getting sick after being exposed to the elements. Hypothermia can occur even when the low is 40 degrees if one becomes chilled from rain or misty fog.

Advocates for unhoused people plan to make their point outside the Wills Center Thursday morning. Hopefully Dyer and other city leaders will see the benefit of keeping people indoors before then and extend operations for February’s remaining weeks.

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 2:41 PM.