HERMISTON — The Hermiston Warming Station is preparing to open for the winter season on Nov. 23, but like everything else this year, COVID-19 is complicating the situation.

Sandy Francis, the warming station’s new board chair, said the board is in consultation with Umatilla County Public Health on what will be allowable and how best to protect guests and volunteers at the nonprofit emergency shelter.

“We’re looking for different ways we can do 6-foot distancing, but still maximize the space we have,” she said.

She said it was hard to state for sure what the season will look like, as COVID-19 regulations often change, and it is possible new guidance could be released by the state or at the county level between now and the opening date.

Since it moved to a house at 1075 S. Highway 395 in 2016, the warming station has had a capacity for about 22 people per night. Francis said they have a sleeping room for men, one for women and one for families. But she said if cots must be 6 feet apart this year, capacity will be more like eight guests.

“Usually we have enough space for 22 people, and we’ve had some nights where we’ve had to turn people away because we didn’t have room for them,” she said.

Last winter was a relatively mild one, and partway through that season, Teesie Hill, the board chair at the time, said they were seeing about six guests per night. But the year before she reported an average of 18 guests per night. This year, the board can’t predict what the winter will look like, but according to the National Weather Service, on Monday, Oct. 26, Hermiston saw a record-low temperature for the date, at 18 degrees. Other surrounding communities also set records on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Francis said they have looked for a bigger space to use this year, but so far haven’t found a viable option.

In early 2020 a group of Hermiston residents, including some who have volunteered for the Warming Station, formed a nonprofit known as Stepping Stones, with a goal of creating a year-round homeless shelter in town. One of the benefits touted by the group was their plan to build individual huts that would provide privacy and social distancing for guests compared to sleeping on a cot in the same room as several other guests.

An ordinance recently passed by the Hermiston City Council allowing such temporary shelters in industrial zones, however, ruled out the project’s planned location by including a provision they must be at least 1,000 feet from parks and schools, and co-located on a site with an existing industrial use. Stepping Stones board chair Cathy Lloyd said the group is still looking at options for locations outside Hermiston city limits and funding options.

For now, however, the Warming Station will continue to provide emergency nighttime shelter from the end of November through February.

Volunteer recruitment

While the goal is to open each night during the season, last year the shelter had to close on some nights due to a lack of volunteers. Francis said the board is concerned that fears of COVID-19 will prevent people from volunteering this year.

Volunteers will be required to wear masks, hand sanitizer stations will be available and the board has swapped out fabric furniture for items more easily sanitized, and other precautions will be taken to ensure safety. The board is currently looking at installing plastic dividers between cots.

Even if the warming station doesn’t have enough volunteers to staff the shelter overnight, Francis said, they are committed to at least being open until 10 p.m. each night so guests can come in and warm up for a little bit and have some soup.

If people aren’t interested in volunteering, they can donate money for supplies and volunteer background checks, or donate single-serving, microwavable cups of soup or macaroni. To donate, call the Warming Station at 541-303-3256 to set up a time.

Pendleton

Pendleton nonprofit Neighbor 2 Neighbor is attempting to offer the services of the Pendleton Warming Station without using the warming station’s usual facility.

Neighbor 2 Neighbor Executive Director Dwight Johnson said the board recently voted to suspend overnight stays at the organization’s 715 S.E. Court Ave. building while looking at alternative sites for the homeless to sleep by Nov. 15, the warming station’s usual opening date.

Johnson said the decision was “painful,” but the right call given the limitations of trying to offer a socially distant sleeping center during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added homeless residents can be especially vulnerable to the effects of the virus, and the logistics of trying to operate Neighbor 2 Neighbor’s small facility were too great to overcome.

“It’s a germ factory in the best of times,” he said, adding that it was usually the common cold that circulated among lodgers and volunteers.

Neighbor 2 Neighbor’s preferred alternative is to start a voucher program with a local motel, allowing the people who use the warming station to have a warm place to sleep, while still socially distancing themselves from one another.

Johnson said his group is working with the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon on getting funding for the program. On Oct. 25-26, Neighbor 2 Neighbor did a trial run, with the warming station opening as an intake center before sending lodgers out with a motel voucher.

Johnson said Neighbor 2 Neighbor is looking at other alternative sites for a warming station and he recently met with City Manager Robb Corbett to help with the search.

The Hermiston Warming Station is offering the dates listed below for volunteer trainings. All volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have completed a training and passed a background check. Please RSVP in advance through the warming station’s Facebook page.

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7-8:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 30, 6-7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 1, 12-1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7-8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 5, 6-7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7, 6-7:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 9, 7-8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 12-1:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 13, 7-8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 15, 12-1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 19, 7-8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21, 6-7:30 p.m.