Woodburn's sole overnight shelter, located on 1560 Hardcastle Ave, opens for daytime cooling operations when temperatures reach 95 degrees or higher. (Staff file photo)

As the weather heats up, Woodburn’s sole overnight shelter is prepared to launch into cooling mode if temperatures spike.

Cooling operations at the Hardcastle Shelter are triggered when temperatures reach 95 degrees or higher. With a high of 97 degrees forecast in Woodburn, the shelter may open its doors for daytime hours and cooling operations this week.

”It can be difficult because the church doesn’t have air conditioning. So when it’s 95 outside, it’s usually about 85 inside,” said shelter Program Director Sara Webb. “ But at least we’re able to hand out cold water, and 85 is better than 95 in the sun. It’s definitely better than nothing, and we do have fans and all that.”

The shelter is located at 1560 Hardcastle Ave., inside the Church of Christ, and is managed by the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency in partnership with the city.  The shelter is open from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. seven nights a week, with case management, mail services, dinner and breakfast, laundry and showers available inside the church.

The shelter has a capacity for 20 people every night, with Federal Emergency Management Agency tents with heating and cooling systems set up in the church’s parking lot and room for people to sleep in their cars on the property as well. During the winter months, the shelter also temporarily doubled its capacity, allowing people to warm up and sleep inside the church as well.

According to Webb, the shelter has had to open for daytime cooling only once this summer. Nonetheless, the shelter has remained full most nights, with people now primarily sleeping inside the church due to current issues with the outdoor tent system.

In addition to providing a cool place to sleep, shelter workers cook and serve meals to the occupants and help them with next steps toward more permanent housing. The Woodburn shelter is a transitional shelter, meaning the occupants cannot stay there indefinitely. Occupants typically move on after 3-6 months, and shelter workers help the occupants transition through case management and other services.

The shelter is primarily funded by the state, with additional support from the city of Woodburn. However, Webb says her agency is always seeking additional funding to enhance the shelter’s services.

“We’re always on the hunt for additional funding to make it a 24-hour facility and to be able to move into a building that has things like AC and sprinklers so people can come inside and sort of move past this current tent model,” Webb said.

While Webb would like to eventually see the shelter transition to a 24-hour model, she still emphasizes the importance of a nighttime shelter for the Woodburn community.

“ For people, this is the first overnight shelter that they’ve had. Before, the model was that it was open during the day, but not at night and now it’s the opposite,” Webb said. “I think it has been a game changer for the community. Staying safe in the evening is much harder than during the day. So, allowing people to have this sort of dignity of being able to put their head down and sleep safely at night, clients are all very happy about that.”