The Allegheny County Department of Human Services has a new winter shelter plan for people experiencing homelessness. Officials said Monday that they plan to eliminate the so-called “code blue” action system for extremely cold temperatures: Instead, they’ll increase the amount of shelter space available every night, regardless of weather, and expand daytime hours.
In the past, the county activated code blue shelters when outdoor temperatures fell below 26 degrees between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m., or when severe weather prompted Pittsburgh’s Office of Emergency Management to activate the city’s emergency operations center.
This year, “We've found a place where we can be every night,” said DHS director Erin Dalton. “So, we don't have to just open on the coldest nights of the year and mess around with air temperatures and precipitation. We have a place for everyone to be.”
The winter shelter plan will be in effect from Nov. 15 to March 15.
Second Avenue Commons, which was damaged by a fire this summer, will partially reopen on Oct. 28. The next day its Engagement Center, which offers housing and supportive services, grab-and-go lunches, and more, will reopen with new hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
“That's a really big deal for folks who are on the street: to be able to have the engagement center, the medical clinic open every single day,” Dalton said. “So that'll be a big update.”
The winter overflow shelter at Second Avenue Commons is expected to make available another 40 beds when it comes online Nov. 15. That same day, DHS will also open a total of 65 additional beds at Salvation Army Women’s Overflow Shelter, EECM Winter Overflow Shelter, and Light of Life Winter Overflow Shelter.
DHS will open its newest winter shelter on the North Side, no later on Dec. 11. Northside Partnership Project and Community Family Advocates will operate a shelter at the Community Resource Mall on Maple Avenue. In a press release, officials said the program “will have sufficient capacity to shelter anyone who needs a safe place to stay this winter.” Free transportation will be available each night from Second Avenue Commons.
Between all the facilities, the county will “be able to serve over 600 adults on the coldest days of the year when anyone wants to come inside,” Dalton said.
She said she was “grateful to the shelter system who is working with us on these extended hours [and] more beds so that we may welcome everyone in this winter.”
Dalton said officials are contending with two separate but related concerns: “How do we get people out of the shelter system and into affordable housing … And then how do we make sure we have enough capacity while we're doing that for people to come inside?”
Because the two issues are so intertwined, she said, “We've been trying to expand our shelter system all the while we're trying to actually really help people get out of shelter.”
The winter shelter plan is an effort to address a spike in homelessness in Allegheny County and nationwide. According to officials, the number of people experiencing homelessness topped 1,000 in January — though housing justice activists argue even that figure could be an undercount, since the tally fluctuates based on weather conditions and other factors.
Find a full list of the county’s drop-in & engagement centers and shelter locations for single adults here. To access family shelters, contact the Allegheny LINK at 1-866-730-2368.
