The City of Santa Rosa, in partnership with Catholic Charities, is opening a temporary, Drop-In Warming Center for persons experiencing homelessness within Santa Rosa city limits, as overnight temperatures are forecasted to drop as low as the upper 20s in the North Bay. The Drop-In Warming Center will open this evening, Tuesday, Feb. 22 and operate during the hours of 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Friday morning, Feb. 25. The Drop-In Warming Center will be located outdoors, as a COVID safety precaution, in Catholic Charities’ Homeless Services Center parking lot (610 Wilson Street in Santa Rosa) and will be outfitted with pop-up tents warmed by low-profile radiant heaters.
Consistent with direction from the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, visitors to the Drop-In Warming Center will need to always wear a mask and observe 3’ social distancing for the duration of their visit. Masks will be provided and capacity is limited to 40 individuals. This Drop-In Warming Center is temporary and not an overnight shelter, and as such, cots will not be provided. However, visitors to the Drop-in Warming Center seeking indoor emergency shelter will be provided a referral. The City follows a Housing First strategy to address homelessness, providing individualized assistance to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with services and shelter, with the goal of helping them to transition from being homeless into housing.
In lieu of volunteers, Catholic Charities is seeking cold and wet weather items for distribution to unsheltered community members, including tarps, sleeping bags, rain gear, and socks. Donations may be dropped off between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday to the Drop-In Warming Center at 610 Wilson Street. The site is a gated yard on 7th street (between Wilson and Davis street). There is a large St. Vincent DePaul truck parked at the entrance of the yard. New items only, please.
To learn more about cold weather preparedness, including safety tips, Santa Rosa residents are encouraged to visit srcity.org/ExtremeCold.