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UID:Indybay-18748732
SEQUENCE:18857818
CREATED:20140104T081200Z
DESCRIPTION:We are a group of concerned citizens calling ourselves Residents for 
 Coldest Nights Warming Centers (The Warming Group), are calling on the 
 Homeless Services Center, the City and County of Santa Cruz, churches, and 
 other groups with large indoor spaces or other resources to come together 
 to continue a conversation about how to create, maintain, and publicize 
 warming centers where homeless people can get out of the elements when 
 temperatures plummet to deadly lows, or when the weather is otherwise 
 extreme. \n\nWe have been meeting since the deadly cold snap in early 
 December and have begun this project in earnest. We've drawn up a list of 
 possible Center locations and have begun to contact them. We need your help 
 in this endeavor.\n\nThe most recent cold snap brought sad news of several 
 homeless individuals in San Jose freezing to death. Many in Santa Cruz 
 wondered if some of our homeless would die from lack of shelter on our 
 coldest nights.\n\nA recent study by Applied Survey Research found that 
 among the more than 3,500 homeless individuals in Santa Cruz County, 82% of 
 homeless residents in Santa Cruz County, and 69% in the City of Santa Cruz 
 remain unsheltered. On nights when the temperature plummets to extreme 
 lows, such a lack of shelter can be deadly.\n\nThe most recent cold spell 
 galvanized numerous blanket and coat drives, and the Homeless Services 
 Center and various churches opened all their available spaces to take in as 
 many people as possible. However, The Warming Group remains concerned that 
 Santa Cruz City and County lack sufficient (and sufficiently well-known and 
 accessible) warm spaces available to shelter the homeless, especially on 
 nights when the emergency shelter at the Armory is unavailable due to the 
 National Guard schedule.\n\nWe invite everyone to participate. We need to 
 take the initiative to help ensure greater safety from potentially 
 life-threatening circumstances during the cold winter months. It is our 
 hope that those with usable indoor spaces will move forward as quickly as 
 possible to provide ad-hoc warming centers that can be put in place before 
 the next cold spell. Longer term, we see the need for a more 
 comprehensively organized program that can be put in place to meet the 
 needs of those who might otherwise freeze to death.”\n\nA warming center 
 is simply a space operated with the mission of preventing loss of life due 
 to the elements. It is a physical location that provides heat and plumbing 
 on the coldest nights.\n\nWe believe that this effort draws upon a broad 
 humanitarian concern that unites our community.\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/01/04/18748732.php
SUMMARY:Help us Open A Warming Center in Santa Cruz
LOCATION:535 Spring St. Santa Cruz. \nPlease park on the street.
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/01/04/18748732.php
DTSTART:20140108T030000Z
DTEND:20140108T043000Z
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