CLEARFIELD, Utah — While we enjoy the last few days of warmth, colder weather is on the way.
To prepare for the upcoming temperature change, Davis County officials are already working to set up their warming center. Monday was their first day in their new location, previously known as Talia’s Event Center, at 22 E. 200 South in Clearfield.
Ryan Steinbeigle, the Davis County community services manager, said they’ve still got a lot of unpacking to do. As they started to go through their boxes, he said they noticed they're not in need of clothes or supplies just yet. Instead, they’re looking for more volunteers to staff Code Blue nights.
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Code Blue Alerts are sent out by the county when temperatures in the area are expected to drop to 18 degrees. You can find what classifies a Code Blue Night on the Utah Department of Health and Human Services website.
“This is an emergency response to keep people from freezing to death on the streets when it’s really, really cold,” Steinbeigle said. "I think people recognize that and are like, 'This is a good thing we are doing.' We’re saving lives essentially. People recognize that and want to help anyway they can.”
Last year, Steinbeigle said they had 16 beds for those in need. Now they’ve had to up that number to 30 because of the increase in homelessness in the area.
So far, they’ve had 285 people show interest in volunteering for a night at the warming center. They’re hoping to get that number up to 500 people.
“If you talk to anyone who worked a shift at the warming center last year, they’re going to tell you about what an amazing experience it was because the people who came were just grateful,” Steinbeigle said.
Volunteers can work any four-hour shift between 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Last year, they had two volunteers per shift, but they’re hoping to add a third person because they expect more people to walk through their doors.
If you are interested in volunteering, you can sign up on Davis County’s website.
