That Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s Parish Hall is the location for the overnight emergency warming center for Durangoans without a consistent roof over their heads is welcome. Located across the street from the church in the 200 block of East 5th Avenue (that’s four blocks south of College Avenue), a portion of the two-story hall seems ideal.
The warming center will be open for four months, beginning Nov. 1, from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., when the temperature is 15 degrees or colder.
Upstairs in the Parish Hall – which contains a chapel, meeting rooms, bathroom, and an office – is where the warming center will be located.
The city had received both support and some concerns from neighbors. And, opposition by the Durango School District. Park Elementary School is about three blocks from the church and Parish Hall.
The school district is right to be entirely focused on student safety, given events across the country. And the Emergency Warming Center organizers – Neighbors in Need Alliance, Manna, Red Cross of Western Colorado, and other community advocates – have been responsive to these concerns. They agreed to close the shelter before the school day starts, to set a morning exit route, and to create a safety plan with the parish, NINA, the police, and Park Elementary that allows the City Council to revoke the permit if issues arise.
But we have confidence in the warming center’s council, city council’s support, and particularly in the Durango Police Department to be alert to those using the warming center to keep the neighborhood secure. And, if they can’t, then the location ought to be reconsidered.
Let’s assume all will be well, that those who would otherwise be unprotected in the bitter nighttime cold during the winter months will have warm nights indoors. City Council was right to give the center an OK.
An earlier version of this editorial misstated that Sacred Heart runs a pre-K-8 school in its Parish Hall. The parish has not operated a school since 1976. The hall description and EWC organizer information have also been corrected.
