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Wednesday, December 21, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Cold weather shelter will start operating in January
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
In 11 days, the Sisters
Cold Weather Shelter will
open its doors to those need-
ing to come in out of the
cold. Registration begins at
6 p.m. on January 1, 2017, at
Westside Church, 442 Trinity
Way, between Highway 242
and McKinney Butte Road.
The shelter will be open
from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. every
night the temperature is
forecast to be 32 degrees or
lower. Westside is serving as
the host facility for the shel-
ter for the month of January.
Sisters Community Church
has offered their facilities for
the month of February. As of
this time, no organization has
yet come forward for March.
Sign-ups for volunteer
shifts began at an informa-
tional meeting and training
held on December 12 for
people interested in becom-
ing involved.
“I think sign-ups went
well, but we still have many
gaps. We definitely need
more people to sign up for the
midnight to 7 a.m. shift,” said
co-chairman Lois Kaping.
“Our schedule will be avail-
able online and people can
find out current informa-
tion by checking out the
Sisters Cold Weather Shelter
Facebook page if they are
interested in volunteering in
the shelter.”
The sign-up is avail-
able at https://signup.com/
group/306456416071. Or,
sign up on Facebook.
There are many other
services and goods that are
needed, and people who can’t
work in the shelter can help
in other ways like providing
and/or cooking food, pro-
viding cleaning services, or
making donations of items
or money. A bank account is
currently being established
and the group plans to secure
its 501(c)(3) classification as
a nonprofit so that donations
will be tax-deductible.
Kaping was able to secure
12 surplus mattresses from
the Deschutes County Jail.
“I’ve had a great response
for the supply list and people
have committed to some of
the more significant items
(bedding). For example, Mary
Tomjack from Heartwarmers
is donating all 12 blankets,”
she said.
The shelter’s current needs
include: electric tea kettle; 12
new pillows; plastic filing
box for registration forms and
community resources infor-
mation; spray bottles with
disinfectant; laundry soap,
bleach, dryer sheets; metal
bucket (for cigarette butts);
board games and DVDs; per-
sonal hygiene items (tooth-
brush, toothpaste, razors,
shaving cream, hygiene prod-
ucts); coffee, instant oatmeal,
cup of noodles, and protein/
granola bars; and cell phones
with minutes.
Cash donations are always
welcome for operating costs
like laundry and cell phone
minutes.
At the December 12
meeting, men from Bend’s
Shepherd’s House and the
Redmond Cold Weather
Shelter described a typi-
cal night at the shelter, gave
pointers on how to approach
and interact with the shelter
guests, and general operating
procedures for the shelter.
The collaborative
nature of the SCWS is
very exciting to watch. ...
Everyone seems to
be jumping in to offer
whatever help they can.
— Jerry Kaping
“I thought the turnout
was incredible. We had 60
people, 44 of whom filled out
criminal background check
papers,” Kaping said. All
volunteers must go through a
criminal background check by
the Oregon State Police. She
was particularly pleased with
the way the people involved
are working together.
“The collaborative nature
of the SCWS is very exciting
to watch. All parties involved
are positive and helpful. We
have a great mix of both
civic and religious organiza-
tions along with individuals.
Everyone seems to be jump-
ing in to offer whatever help
they can,” Kaping said.
There will be a phone
number for guests to call after
2 p.m. seven days a week to
listen to a recording regarding
whether or not the shelter will
be open that evening. Doors
will open at 6 p.m. and guests
have four hours to get settled,
have something to drink and
eat, socialize, read, and play
games.
Lights are dimmed at
10 p.m. and quiet is main-
tained until 6 a.m. Guests
are expected to be out of the
facility by 7 a.m., taking with
them whatever they came in
with the previous evening.
Men and women guests
sleep in separate areas of the
available space. Families with
children are provided a sepa-
rate room but are required
to have the door open.
The first time a guest
comes to the shelter, they
are asked to fill out a regis-
tration form on which they
provide basic information, an
emergency contact, plus any
health concerns they have or
that may need attention dur-
ing the night. They may also
be referred to other agencies
for services as needed.
Volunteers will handle
setting up the facility each
evening, preparing coffee,
welcoming and register-
ing guests, and at all times
throughout the night at least
one volunteer will be awake
and available so that every-
one will be safe. At 6 a.m.,
the lights go on and guests
prepare to leave.
Depending on where the
shelter is housed, companion
dogs may be allowed in and
provided a kennel crate in
which they will sleep next to
their owner.
The next meeting for
the board and volunteers is
scheduled for Wednesday,
December 28, 4 p.m., at
Westside Church. For more
information or to offer help,
contact shelter co-chairs
Lois Kaping at loiskaping@
bendbroadband.com or Pastor
Ron Gregg at Shepherd of
the Hills Lutheran Church at
541-549-5831.
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