Durango City Council approved up to $12,500 last week to fund transportation services for an emergency warming center at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Parish Hall in Durango.
Councilors previously approved the operation of an emergency warming center for people experiencing homelessness on nights the temperature is forecast to be 15 degrees or lower between Nov. 1 and Feb. 28.
Mike Todt, chair of the Emergency Warming Center Council, said a city shuttle will transport individuals at 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Sundays from the Durango Transit Center at 250 W. 8th St. to the Parish Hall at 254 East Fifth Ave.
Mondays through Fridays, a shuttle will transport individuals from the Parish Hall to the Transit Center and Manna soup kitchen at 6:45 a.m., he said. On Saturdays and Sundays when Manna is closed, the shuttle will transport individuals back to the Transit Center.
Councilor Kip Koso said a shuttle should reassure Durango School District – whose superintendent, Karen Cheser, previously expressed concerns about the warming center’s proximity to Park Elementary School – since people going to and from the warming center will not need to walk past the school.
“More importantly – far more importantly – it’s providing an important connection on brutally cold nights to keep our unhoused folks safe,” Koso said.
Resident Linda Barnes, who works with the Emergency Warming Center Council, said allowing the warming center and providing transportation funding demonstrates the community’s care and willingness to help people experiencing housing insecurity who could otherwise freeze.
“Having transportation available (for) the estimated 20-25 nights between December and February will alleviate concerns in the community regarding people going by foot through the neighborhoods or by Park Elementary School, which is two blocks east and north of Sacred Heart Parish Hall,” she said.
She said warming center guests will be provided a walking route that does not pass Park Elementary School – but transportation directly in and out of the neighborhood assures there is as little contact as possible between people using the warming center and Park Elementary School students, parents, faculty and staff.
“Our goal is to demonstrate care and safety for all. Our ask is small and represents the creative partnership between the private and public sector in Durango,” she said.
A resolution approving the warming center requires Parish Hall, the Neighbors in Need Alliance and the Durango Police Department to create a joint safety and response protocol.
cburney@durangoherald.com
