City of Sonoma opens warming center at Veterans Memorial Hall

The last-minute opening provided shelter to five people, according to Sonoma Valley homelessness leaders, as temperatures dipped below freezing early Friday morning|

Warming center at Veterans Memorial Hall

Those experiencing homelessness and those without heat are welcome inside the Veterans Memorial Hall in Sonoma, located at 126 1st St W. Sonoma, CA 95476 from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. through Saturday morning.

Additional information:

•Masks are required to be worn at all times.

•No television or radio will be available, but visitors may bring, charge and use their own devices.

•Light snacks and beverages may be provided.

•Food that is ready to eat is permissible; kitchen access will not be available.

•Due to space limitations, no more than one small tote and daypack per person is allowed.

The city of Sonoma opened the Veterans Memorial Hall as a warming center for unhoused residents Thursday night after an emergency freeze warning was issued for Sonoma County.

A joint statement from the city of Sonoma and Sonoma County released at 7:21 p.m. Thursday announced Veterans Memorial Hall, at 126 First St. W., would be open from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Francisco Kilgore, a staff member for the nonprofit Sonoma Overnight Support, which helps find shelter for individuals, said six people used the warming center Thursday night. Another five unhoused residents told Kilgore they were already set up for the night and “didn’t want to move.”

“I expect they will be at the vets hall tonight,” Kilgore said.

“It’s too bad they made this announcement so late,” he added. “I’m grateful to the city and the county staff that were there with me, but we didn’t have a chance to spread the message very far. It’s hard to find and encourage people when it’s well past nightfall.”

There are about 80 homeless people in Sonoma Valley on any given night of the year, according to City of Sonoma homelessness consultant Andrew Hening.

Sonoma Valley homeless advocates have stressed for months the need to prepare for cold weather with either a warming center or a winter shelter. At the Nov. 21 City Council meeting, nonprofit advocacy group Homeless Action Sonoma founder Annie Falandes expressed the need to find a location for a winter shelter ahead of cold weather.

“We need a location to have a winter shelter or at least a warming station,” Falandes said. “We have a tent, we have a generator, we have electricity, we have heaters, we have staff. We are prepared to do this and we just don't have a location.”

Homeless Action Sonoma hopes to erect shelters on its property in Boyes Hot Springs by the end of December.

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.

Warming center at Veterans Memorial Hall

Those experiencing homelessness and those without heat are welcome inside the Veterans Memorial Hall in Sonoma, located at 126 1st St W. Sonoma, CA 95476 from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. through Saturday morning.

Additional information:

•Masks are required to be worn at all times.

•No television or radio will be available, but visitors may bring, charge and use their own devices.

•Light snacks and beverages may be provided.

•Food that is ready to eat is permissible; kitchen access will not be available.

•Due to space limitations, no more than one small tote and daypack per person is allowed.

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