LOGAN — They operated last winter for the first time and they are back again this winter – the William A. Burnard Warming Center.
It provides a warm place to spend the night and get out of the elements for those would otherwise not have a place.
As of Monday, Dec 4th they are setting up again at St John’s Episcopal Church (85 E 100 North) in Logan.
On a recent KVNU For the People program, new executive director Lindsey Harrelson said homelessness does exist locally.
“We do have homelessness here in Cache Valley, I believe the Point in Time count, the PIT count last year, it indicates that we have at least 200 homeless persons living in the Cache Valley area. Typically you may not see the homeless people on the streets, one reason is that they camp in the Green Canyon area, and then another reason is that we’re very fortunate to have BRAG addressing some of the homeless issues as well,” Harrelson explained.
She said, unfortunately, there are not enough funds to address those issues and get hotel vouchers or housing vouchers for homeless residents, and that’s where the Warming Center comes in. Harrelson said there is a stigma to being homeless, but it’s not always because of one’s bad decisions.
“That’s just not the case. If you were to look at a map of the United States and look at the homelessness population and the rate of homelessness in a certain area, and then you were to overlay it with the cost of houses, buying houses, you would see that there’s a direct relation with the cost of living in an area and homelessness.”
She said we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic and with recent issues, more and more middle-class families have been affected. She said the warming center, like they did last year, even has a place for families with pets.
“We do, isn’t that wonderful? I was so excited when I heard that, just being a lover of animals myself, that we allow pets in and we have accommodations. And we even have food for the pets. That makes my heart so happy that we understand that folks who are homeless, they still do have their pets, and of course, they deserve to keep their pets.”
The William A .Burnard Warming Center is looking for volunteers and even donations. You can get more information at WABWarmingCenter.org.