Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
United Way, library describe community-run warming shelter to Finney County commissioners
Loading...
Summary
Finney County United Way director Deb Oiler and Finney County Library director Pam Tuller told commissioners the library hosted a fully staffed warming shelter over a winter weekend, covering all volunteer shifts and serving overnight guests and additional meals via Emmaus House, and urged formalized planning for future events.
Deb Oiler, director of Finney County United Way, and Pam Tuller, director of the Finney County Library, briefed the Finney County Board of County Commissioners on a community-run warming shelter the library hosted during a recent winter weekend.
Oiler said the shelter was open from Friday evening through the following Monday morning and was staffed entirely by volunteers. "We had 32 volunteers that stepped forward, to help us man every single one of those shifts," she told commissioners, adding that two people stayed Friday night, two on Saturday, five on Sunday and four on Monday night. The shelter also fed about 15 additional people through a partnership with Emmaus House, she said.
Tuller described why the library was chosen as the site: "The library is a perfect place. I mean, it's one of the last places in the community that really is open to everybody," she said, noting the facility's space, toys, games and a separate area suitable for hosting guests. Tuller and Oiler said the library's new VRF heating system helped keep the facility warm for shelter guests.
Speakers emphasized lessons learned and next steps for future warming efforts: creating a volunteer vetting process, ensuring volunteers are CPR-certified and trained to use the library's AED, developing a communications plan to reach people who might need shelter, and coordinating overflow capacity with other potential host locations.
Commissioners thanked the presenters for organizing the shelter and praised the volunteer response. The presenters said they are moving into planning stages to formalize policies, training and outreach so the county and community are better prepared if another event is needed.
The board noted a related meeting on the ninth where additional partners may be involved and closed public comment.
