Residents, faith groups ask Watertown to plan winter warming shelter after recent deaths

Speakers at Monday’s Watertown Common Council meeting urged the city to partner with faith-based and nonprofit groups to establish a community overnight warming shelter before next winter, citing recent deaths of unhoused people and local counts showing households living outdoors or in vehicles.

The request came during the council’s public comment period and was presented by members of Building a Welcoming Watertown, a local faith-based coalition, and by staff from Community Action Coalition. They asked the mayor and aldermen to review a formal proposal recently submitted to the mayor’s office and to act before the next cold season.

“The proposal for a community overnight warming shelter based on a public private partnership has now been submitted to the mayor,” said the Reverend Doctor Christopher Ross, pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ, during public comment. Ross and other faith leaders read scripture passages urging care for the vulnerable as part of their appeal.

Francine Gies, a resident, said two unhoused people in Watertown died last winter and described how storage units and other improvised shelters are being used by people without stable housing. “We have a problem, like so many other cities all across the country, and it’s getting bigger as rents continue to rise,” Gies said.

Elizabeth Fritz, who identified herself as the newly elected president of Building a Welcoming Watertown, said the group will present more details in the coming weeks and asked aldermen to “approach this topic with an open mind.”

Jeremy Schmidt, treasurer of Building a Welcoming Watertown and an employee of Community Action Coalition, presented data from Jefferson County’s January point-in-time count. He said that on Jan. 23, 2025, Jefferson County’s count identified 13 households that night, representing 17 clients in 11 households; countywide, a February report showed 47 households were literally homeless. “I’m here to present this information to hopefully get a warming shelter, to have another option so that we don’t have individuals passing away in the cold,” Schmidt said.

Council members did not take a formal vote on the proposal during the meeting; Alderman Lampe suggested the item be placed on a future agenda or assigned to a committee for further study.

The public comments combined personal accounts, scripture-based appeals and data from an established homelessness count; speakers repeatedly urged a city–community partnership model rather than leaving the work solely to nonprofits.

Council members did not adopt policy or allocate funds at the meeting. Advocates said they will follow up with the mayor’s office and the council with the formal proposal and more specifics on the partnership model.