GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro has put its winter cold weather plan in motion, with the city paying for and staffing two White Flag overnight warming centers that will be available through March 31.
The plan, run by the Greensboro Community Safety Department, began Nov. 4. One site is set aside for single adults and the other for families with children, so households do not have to split up to stay out of the cold.
Single adults are directed to the Interactive Resource Center at 407 E. Washington St. Parents and children head to the Glenwood rec center on the city’s east side, at 2010 Coliseum Blvd.
The overnight sites do not open every night. The city turns them on when the air temperature, or the feels-like reading, sits at 32 degrees or lower for at least two hours. An alert can also be called ahead of a winter storm with freezing rain or sleet, a long stretch below freezing, or strong wind that could put people living in encampments at risk.
A daytime spot will be open no matter the alert status. Beginning this weekend, on Saturday, Nov. 7, the downtown resource center keeps its doors open for anyone needing heat every Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., and that schedule holds through the end of March.
Greensboro runs the effort as one partner in the county’s regional homelessness planning network, which pools money and programs to keep people housed across Guilford.
The Community Safety Department also handles crisis intervention and long-term case management for residents whose mental health, substance use or housing struggles keep bringing them into contact with police. Residents can find more on the department at greensboro-nc.gov/csd.
Filed under: Greensboro NC Weather News