Warming room to open in South Lake Tahoe December 18

Submitted by paula on Sat, 12/12/2015 - 8:30pm

Not having a place to call home in a community where winter temperatures often drop below freezing could be hazardous to the increasing number of homeless men, women and families in South Lake Tahoe.

Recognizing the need, a group of concerned community members formed the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless. Their goal was to create a warming room, a place for those on the streets to come in from the elements to keep warm.

On December 18, 2015, the doors will open at the South Lake Tahoe Warm Room which is located at 981 Silver Dollar Avenue. The Warm Room will provide overnight shelter from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. from December to April.

The Warm Room will comprise twenty beds for guests, and provide simple prepackaged foods and hot beverages. Additionally, the Warm Room will act as a “referral way­station”, providing guests with information and resource referrals to help them find more permanent housing solutions.

Homelessness in the Tahoe area is especially difficult due to cold temperatures and snowy winters. A report from the National Coalition of the Homeless recommends that emergency winter shelter be provided when temperatures reach less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent serious cases of hypothermia. In our mountain community, temperatures are often at this level throughout the year.

“Our goal is to provide emergency shelter in the season when homeless are the most vulnerable, and work towards solutions to end the cycle of homelessness," said Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Marissa Muscat.

The Warm Room operates largely with volunteer assistance, and overnight support is especially needed. If you are interested in volunteering there are three training sessions booked in for January 2016:

● January 9 10:00 a.m. -­ 12:30 p.m.
● January 12 1:00 p.m. -­ 3:30 p.m.
● January 21 6:00 p.m. - ­ 8:30 p.m.

For information on volunteering, contact the coalition at (775) 573-­0822 or by email at tahoewarmroom@gmail.com.

Donations are also much appreciated and checks should be made out the the group’s fiscal sponsor, Live Violence Free, with “Warm Room” in the memo, and mailed to Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, PO Box 13514, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151. Or go online to liveviolencefree.org a​nd specify that the gift is for the “Warm Room”.