This is a photograph from the Hub City Mission Severe Weather Shelter open house, which occurred late last year at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds.
When I first heard that the Bethel Church Hub City Mission’s severe weather shelter was moving to the fairgrounds, the move seemed to make a lot of sense. By relocating from downtown Centralia, it created more space and nearly doubled the beds available on the women’s side of the shelter. Patrons could take advantage of the existing restroom and shower facilities at the fairgrounds in an area that was typically unused or vacant during cold weather.
The move also allows the cold weather shelter to better serve Chehalis residents simply by being closer. It wasn’t until I started talking to members of the community about the move that I became aware of some new specific concerns.
The first concern that popped up was the lack of sidewalks along the route to the fairgrounds. National and Kresky avenues weren’t really designed with pedestrians or cyclists in mind. Initially, I dismissed this concern, thinking to myself: “Well, there are wide shoulders along those roads,” believing that, surely, this would create a sufficient area for travel.
Just a week or so later, while driving that very area after dark, I nearly struck a man walking along the route. Granted, he was walking too close to the white line to be safe, but regardless of whether it had been his fault or mine, had I hit him … I would have had to live with that forever.
So, I remain concerned for these patrons.
As a solution, I mentioned to another community member that, surely, Twin Transit could be a potential, safer solution for travel to the fairgrounds. But in checking Twin Transit’s website, they offer an ample daytime schedule for those who can obtain bus fare or a bus pass — but after 6 or 7 p.m., they don’t provide transportation services.
Even that seemed like a simple fix: “Well, homeless people need to plan better. They’ll just have to find ways to get on a bus earlier.”
But of course, it wasn’t that simple.
If a homeless person is pushing a cart with their personal items, because they have no physical location to leave those items safely, or simply has more than what they can haul around in a backpack, they are stuck. They can’t take carts and all of their personal belongings on the bus.
My fear is that we will start seeing bicycles and trailers traveling along Kresky and National after dusk. Worse yet — I fear seeing families with kids and strollers walking along that route to take advantage of the cold weather shelter services.
This situation made me wish that the city of Centralia still had its trolley — that something, somehow could be worked out.
I’m not sure what the answer is at this point in time, but I thought if I wrote about it in this space, that perhaps together, as a community of readers, we could come up with some solutions.
I don’t want it to take an injury or fatality accident before we examine this problem further.
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I’ve received about 100 mylar emergency blankets so far this year. I stopped by the Lewis County Gospel Mission this week to drop off 40 of them. They were excited to see the mylars rolling through the door again.
I’m going to drop off the other 60 at Gather Church’s “Eat Free Cafe” in anticipation for the cold weather this week and the next cold snap that I’m certain will hit us before we know it.
Last year, together as readers, we were able to distribute more than 1,400 thermal blankets to nearly a dozen organizations. This year, I’m hoping to distribute 2,000 mylar blankets to agencies in the Centralia-Chehalis area.
If you aren’t familiar with mylar blankets, they can be used in a multitude of ways. Not only can they be used as a blanket, or barrier between a damp blanket and clothing, but also to line gloves and boots to protect fingers and toes, and also as cover during wet weather events. The blankets are small and compact and easy to have on-hand, in a person’s backpack, in case they need to protect themselves — or another person they come across — from the winter elements.
You can purchase blankets locally at Sunbirds in Chehalis and drop them off at a local organization, or drop them off at The Chronicle in Centralia, where I will pick them up personally and deliver to an organization who can use them.
Likewise, you can also go to Amazon.com and order a bulk pack of mylar blankets and have them shipped directly to The Chronicle (ATTN: “Bvoie” or “blankets”) at 321 North Pearl St. in Centralia.
Cold weather deaths are 100 percent preventable. Together, we can help make ensure that no one freezes to death again in Riverside Park, like Jerry Allen Grimm did last winter.
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Brittany Voie is a columnist for The Chronicle. She can be reached by e-mailing brittanyvoie@gmail.com.
