WINTER SHELTERS: Contact and Locations Lists

UPDATE SHELTERS LIST IS RIGHT HERE

King County Emergency Family Shelter line — 206-245-1026
King County’s crisis line is: 866-427-4747.
Pierce County’s crisis line is 800-576-7764.
Snohomish County’s crisis line is 800-584-3578.

Homeless unpack to spend the night inside at the winter shelter at the armory in Sylmar. The winter shelter run by HOPE of the Valley will house 170 people at night through the winter. With cold weather hitting area early temporary shelters are already worried about running out of room. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles News Group)

Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather.

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 04: Gage, who is homeless, pauses outside of a coffee shop on the streets of Boston as snow falls from a massive winter storm on January 4, 2018 in Boston, United States. Schools and businesses throughout the Boston area are closed as the city is expecting over a foot of snow and blizzard like conditions throughout the day. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A warming center is a short-term emergency shelter that operates when temperatures or a combination of precipitation, wind chill, wind and temperature become dangerously inclement. Their paramount purpose is the prevention of death and injury from exposure to the elements. This may include acute trauma from falling objects such as trees, or injury to extremities due to frostbite. A more prevalent emergency which warming centers seek to prevent is hypothermia, the risk for which is aggravated by factors such as age, alcohol consumption, and homelessness.