The Sequim Community Warming Center is in need of a new home before cold weather returns.

Jean Pratschner, the warming center’s manager, said the Serenity House Resource Center at 583 W. Washington St. that housed the warming center for free last year can no longer accommodate it this year.

“The situation changed in that we lost our accommodations at Serenity House,” Pratschner said.

Pratschner said Serenity House was no longer able to accomodate the warming center this year as the organization is downsizing and may close the resource center in Sequim.

The warming center opened in December of 2017 and is only open on severely cold nights at 36 degrees or below. Last year, Pratschner said the warming center served an average of seven people per night and was open a total of about 50 nights from December through March.

Pratschner said the community was generous with donations last year and was able to come up with enough funds to keep the warming center open through December of 2018 after funding ran short. She said it costs about $150 per night to open the shelter to cover the cost of one paid staff member to work a 10-hour shift which covers minimum wage, benefits and insurance.

“Every day people were so generous and we want to keep that impetus,” she said.

“I can’t do this alone and I need help; I need the community to support (the warming center) and I know it can do that.”

Pratschner said this year the warming center is looking to expand to a bigger space. She is hoping for a space anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet that can hold at least a 10 by 10 foot space for a small kitchenette to heat up food, a 30 by 20 foot space for a general seating area and a space to put storage for warm clothes, blankets and other supplies. She also said the space needs to have a bathroom, electricity and lights.

The space needs to be away from residential areas and public offices if possible as the center operates at night and through the early morning, and must be ADA accessible. Pratschner also is requesting a means of transport if it is needed for individuals who need to access to the warming center.

“We were so successful last year and helped so many folks to stay warm and, hopefully alive, during the worst cold nights,” she said in an email.

“We served 171 folks who might otherwise have been in serious hypothermic danger and hungry, but when the need came up, Sequim citizens really came forward to make the center a success. Now we need to find a new place to operate the warming center.”

If the center is able to find a home and open this year, Pratschner said the center would open from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. on severely cold nights tentatively starting at the end of October or in November.

The center was able to run last year by donations and volunteers from the Sequim community with help from Serenity House letting the warming center use the space for free. OlyCAP also sponsors the center and each shift includes a paid OlyCAP employee with one volunteer to run the center at all times.

She said the warming center could share a space with a business or organization that has a conference room or large area for seating, and some rent money could be available to pay rent.

The warming center last year served a variety of people, Pratschner said, from homeless individuals to families to travelers passing through the area. The center is not for sleeping, Pratschner said, but strictly a place where individuals can get warm and have a hot drink or meal.

“We’re here to keep people warm,” she said. “We want people to come in an stay alive.”

Pratschner said the warming center is accepting monetary donations, canned nonperishable food, warm clothing, blankets, camping supplies, as well as volunteers to sign up for at least one night to help run the center.

Trained employees/volunteers will check individuals wanting to use the warming center for drugs, weapons and dangerous animals at the door for safety.

Donations can be mailed to OlyCAP at 823 Commerce Loop in Port Townsend, 98368, addressed to the “Sequim Community Warming Center.”

For more information on volunteering or donating, contact Jean Pratschner at 505-264-0278 or email jlpratschner@gmail.com.

The Sequim Community Warming Center operated out of the Serenity House Resource Center at 583 W. Washington St. and is now looking for a new space of anywhere from at least 1,000 to 2,000 square feet that includes a kitchenette, large seating area and a place for storage. Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins