Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- The Davis County "code blue" warming center opened in Layton amid community pushback.
- Volunteers noted misconceptions about patrons, who are described as respectful and in need.
- The center seeks more volunteers and donations, especially shoes, to support its operations.
LAYTON — Thursday night, two elderly men and one elderly woman spent the night at Davis County's "code blue" warming shelter. Staff and volunteers say the three are the most consistent patrons of the temporary shelter, though the shelter has topped out at four, with an additional family being put up at an area hotel.
"It's a good place," one man who stays at the shelter said. He asked that his name not be reported. "It just needs to be open earlier and longer and more days."
He has been homeless for a matter of months and usually stays in his camp trailer with his Australian Shepherd, named Bear E. He says it gets too costly to try and keep it warm all night long. He also says the trailer's batteries usually won't last through the night.
"They run out before 2 or about 4 in the morning, and it starts getting cold in there," he said.
A woman who also asked not to be named said she's grateful for the warming center. She walked into the building with a couple of luggage bags and a white card stock sign that read "PLEASE HELP."
"I think it's a wonderful place to go," she said. "So you don't have to be out in the cold, in the dark."
Communities in Fruit Heights and Kaysville had previously opposed warming centers in those communities, citing various concerns. Some said they would be too close to neighborhoods and small businesses. Others worried a proposed warming center inside a former emissions testing center might threaten the health of those inside. People also strongly opposed the state's current guidelines for choosing the centers, which calls for city and county leaders to make the choices without public feedback.
Stan Bonnemort, a volunteer from Fruit Heights, said he signed up to help after seeing news coverage for the proposed centers.
"It was really disheartening to me," he said. "And so it motivated me to get more involved because I believe that these were great people who were not showing up on drugs or drunk or a danger to the community. And so I wanted to find out for myself."
Bonnemort says so far, it's been just as he expected.
"These are great people," he said.
Melissa McHenry, a volunteer from Layton, also kept watch at the center Thursday.
"I think there are a lot of misconceptions," McHenry said. "But if you can fill in the gap and take care of people who are part of your community, even if you don't recognize them as such right off the bat, I don't think there's a greater way to show love and support for your community."
Both Bonnemort and McHenry, however, both added that they could use help, in more volunteers and in donations — especially shoes. The building at 850 S. Main Street was made available by Davis Behavioral Health and will likely remain the county's only warming center for the rest of the winter. A Davis County sheriff's deputy is also on hand at the center, and a county employee helps open it up each night.
County employees said that so far, all of the warming center patrons have shown up on their own. A bus has been making various stops for pickups, but no one has been waiting at the stops.
