When snow blanketed Atlanta on Friday morning, most of the city shut down. Schools and businesses closed, the roads emptied, and children found the nearest fluffy white hill to sled down. But enjoying the rare snow day isn’t easy for Atlanta’s unhoused residents. Many instead find themselves scrambling for warm, dry sanctuary.
That’s where the city’s emergency warming centers come in. When temperatures dip below 40 degrees, Mayor Andre Dickens’ Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) sets up cots and heaters in some of the city’s recreation centers.
Atlanta Civic Circle asked OEP Deputy Director Asher Morris to explain how the city’s warming center operations work.
The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity:
Atlanta Civic Circle: Where are all the city-run emergency warming centers, and what prompts each to open?
Morris: Central Park Recreation Center in Old Fourth Ward is the primary location, and Old Adamsville Recreation Center on the Westside is the secondary/overflow location. When temperatures are forecast to remain low — below 35 degrees — for more than a few nights, or for greater than a 24-hour period, we typically activate the Selena Butler Park rec center [also in Old Fourth Ward] for women and children.
What is the capacity of each warming center? And what is the protocol for when one fills up? If, say, the Central Park rec center approaches or reaches capacity, how quickly will the overflow locations activate?
Capacity varies because we do not turn people away, and we add capacity as needed. That said, we have 125 cots at Central, 45 at Selena, a much smaller facility, and 100 at Old Adamsville, with space to grow.
We base our expansion on the percentage of beds filled. If we reach 80%, we automatically open our next facility. However, we also preemptively open centers based on census trends. Typically, we open two simultaneously. All three are mobilized or can be mobilized in short order.
What are the transportation options for people seeking a warming center? You offer a shuttle from the Gateway homeless shelter downtown, but what should a Westside resident do, for example, if they need to escape the cold?
With each activation, we request that homeless advocacy nonprofit Partners for HOME deploy outreach teams to various locations, especially encampments. Some outreach teams provide transport. Atlanta Police provide transport when they are notified or identify an individual who may need warming. Often, community organizations will transport. Some guests take MARTA. It truly varies. Old Adamsville is also on the west side of town, albeit far west.
How much staff does it take to run a warming center?
We aim to staff each center based on capacity with a minimum ratio of 1:25 [staff to shelter-seekers]. However, more often than not we are closer to 1:15 to ensure guests receive top-notch service. During the initial bus transports, we staff up to ensure guests can be registered rapidly, and the wait time to receive a cot isn’t long.
How does the city determine which locations to use as warming centers?
It’s based on a number of factors, especially Department of Parks and Recreation programming. [In other words, if a city rec center is routinely used for, say, nighttime basketball games, it might not be a good fit. -Ed.]
If a private property owner wants to offer a warming center location, would the city run it for them? Or could they manage one independently?
We are happy to explore this option. However, staffing may be a challenge.
How can unhoused people find information on which warming centers are opening and when? Assume most don’t read city press releases, and some don’t have cell phones/internet access. What happens if someone wanders up to an overflow location before it’s activated?
The outreach teams have been doing a great job. We depend on them to spread the word through their networks, including case managers who have unhoused clients. Word of mouth is a POWERFUL tool.