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On January 22, during an impromptu emergency meeting of the Washington Human Relations Council, an emergency plan was implemented to provide shelter for the homeless amidst the frigid cold nights and snow earlier this week.

Community partners and volunteers immediately jumped into action and, within three hours, had identified a local hotel where the homeless could be taken for a couple of nights and began receiving monetary donations to help offset those costs. In all, 25 people received shelter for two nights. In addition, ten men from the Zion Men’s Shelter were also put up in hotel rooms for a third night due to frozen pipes at the shelter. Members of the community also stepped forward and donated over $2,000 to the cause.

“I want to thank everybody who was able to donate, even the smallest amount, as every little bit helps,” said Kieth Harris, who runs the Zion Shelter and Soup Kitchen. “We got a lot of people off the streets for two nights, and as far as I know, there have been no reports of anyone dying of exposure. The main thing for me is that I wanted everyone to be safe.”

“It was just a great grassroots community effort,” added Jonathan Russel, Washington City Manager. “It all kind of developed organically in a short period of time, and it was great to see all of the interest and concern. We were thrilled with the number of folks and organizations that turned out to help, and we were happy to help in any way that we possibly could.”

During the impromptu emergency meeting, there were numerous suggestions for developing and having a plan in place during circumstances such as this that addresses not only the immediate needs of the homeless but also the elderly and others who may lose power during severe winter weather conditions. “We absolutely will look into something like that,” said Russell. “During our brainstorming session, several issues were brought to light. These gave us some insight into things we can be working on in the future from a policy development standpoint and make sure that our citizens are protected.”