The City of Santa Rosa, in partnership with Catholic Charities, will open a temporary drop-in warming center for residents who need a place to get out of the weather this week during forecasted extreme cold and rain. The National Weather Service is projecting a combination of temperatures dipping below freezing early this week and periods of heavy rainfall beginning mid-week. 

The warming center will open Tues. evening, Nov. 29, and operate during the hours of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. until Thurs. morning, Dec. 1. It will be located at the Homeless Services Center of Catholic Charities’ new Caritas Center in downtown Santa Rosa at 301 6th St. Suite 108; the entrance is on Morgan and 6th Streets. The Caritas Center facility has indoor space available to host up to 78 individuals, and, if needed, an outdoor courtyard within the facility will be warmed by low-profile radiant heaters to host up to an additional 90 individuals.

The City is notifying community members of the Warming Center opening, including outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness in Santa Rosa. The Warming Center is a drop-in place to warm up and charge devices; it is not a shelter, and no cots for sleeping will be provided. However, individuals who seek indoor emergency shelter will be provided with 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.

Visit srcity.org/ExtremeCold to learn more about cold weather preparedness, including safety tips.