Greeley’s cold weather shelter is changing buildings. Here’s where it’s going.
By Kelly Ragan
Since March, folks experiencing homelessness in Weld County have been encouraged to stay at the Island Grove Exhibition Center. On Friday, that’ll change.
Folks will have to move to another building Saturday, but the good news is the new building – the Island Grove Events Center – is only about 25 feet away. Folks who need the shelter will be able to stay until April 30.
“I’m glad it’s not across town,” said Jeannine Truswell, United Way CEO and president in an interview with the Optimist. “These are the men and women who are most vulnerable. Many of our folks struggle not only with mental illness, but with disabilities as well.”
Proper social distancing at United Way’s own facilities wasn’t possible, Truswell said, with some 80 people using the overnight shelter when the temperature drops and 30-40 people using the Housing Navigation Center during the day.
So, the city and county came together to offer up the Island Grove Exhibition Center as a temporary fix.
The cold weather shelter had initially been set up to provide services from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. while it was cold and snowing.
But when Gov. Jared Polis issued a shelter-in-place order March 25, shelter operations shifted to 24-hour service, said Truswell, with folks leaving the building for deep cleaning each day.
At a public meeting April 10, Andy McRoberts, the city’s director of culture parks and recreation, said the state strongly recommended Greeley keep the shelter open through April 30, because Greeley is “a hot spot” for COVID-19.
According to state data, Weld had the second most deaths in the state as of Wednesday, with at least 57 reported deaths. Denver County reported the most deaths in the state due to the virus at 61 Wednesday.
With the use changing from 12 to 24 hours and the stay-at-home orders stretching beyond April 11 and out to at least April 26, the shelter began butting up against some of the county’s other needs.
Dan Frazen, Greeley’s emergency manager, said at a public meeting the county wanted to bring about a dozen extension employees back into the exhibition building during working hours.
So, United Way and Catholic Charities will move their operation to the event center building Friday. City employees will help get everything moved to the other building, Truswell said.
At the event center, folks experiencing homelessness will have better access to restrooms.
In the old space, Truswell said, when people were quarantined for symptoms, they had to use separate restrooms, which meant sending them out to the portable toilets outside.
“That wasn’t ideal,” Truswell said.
At the event center building, folks in quarantine have access to restrooms inside the building, Truswell said, but now they don’t have access to a refrigerator for the meals they serve.
“But we can bring things in,” Truswell said.
United Way will need donations to make it work, Truswell said, but the arrangement could end up benefitting local small businesses.
“If people in the community make donations, we can order meals from a local restaurant,” Truswell said. “That will help our community in two ways – helping local businesses and our most vulnerable population.”
At a Tuesday night city council meeting, Frazen said 85 guests stayed at the shelter Monday night, with three people quarantined for exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.
“To me, it’s a great example of the collaboration between these organizations working together,” Truswell said. “Sometimes we come with different perspectives, but ultimately we come together with a good decision.”
Colorado Case Summary by the numbers
8,280 confirmed cases
1,636 people hospitalized
56 counties impacted
40,533 people tested
357 deaths
83 outbreaks
Data provided by the state of Colorado.