November 17, 2022 4:00 a.m.

An overnight warming shelter will be open again Thursday night in Roseburg to provide a warm and dry place for the most vulnerable residents.

A City of Roseburg release said the facility has been open every night since Sunday, due to the colder overnight temperatures. It is at the Roseburg Senior Center at 1614 Southeast Stephens Street.

The senior center will provide a free shuttle bus that will make one circuit around town to pick up guests between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and then drive people back the next morning.

Sixty cots are available for guests and volunteers. Up to about 30 unhoused people have sought shelter so far.

Assistant City Manager/City Recorder Amy Sowa said the city will help pay for the operating costs. Check-in begins at 6:00 pm. Those in need of shelter should arrive by 9:00 p.m. A cot, blanket and pillow plus a hot dinner and breakfast are provided to anyone staying for the night.

The shelter is operated by Kimetha Stallings of Onward Roseburg. She accepts donations of warm clothing, sleeping bags, tents, coffee, coffee cups, cups of noodles, soft snacks and hand warmers.

The City’s severe event shelter policy allows for a City-funded warming shelter to be open, if possible, during severe weather:

*On nights when the low temperatures are predicted to be 30 degrees Fahrenheit or less

*Or when low temperatures are forecasted to be 32 degrees Fahrenheit or less with additional factors that increase a person’s risk of exposure to cold such as precipitation, wind, fog, and sustained low temperatures

Cold temperatures near or slightly below the freezing mark are expected to continue through Saturday night.