The first emergency cold-weather shelter has opened in the City of Renton. In past years those who needed shelter would have to be transported to Auburn or Kent shelters.
This winter, people in need can go to the Harambee Center, 316 S. Third St.
Karen Bergsvik, human services manager for the City of Renton, said “the center will be activated when weather is 32 degrees or lower with imminent snow, or weather that involves a safety risk lasting for 24 hours or more.”
The shelter will be open November through March, depending on the weather. Hours are 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and it’s prepared to shelter 50 homeless residents of Renton while also providing a warm meal every Saturday night.
The Harambee Center is also used as a place of worship for the Soma community. Pastor Caleb Mayberry and Pastor John Prince are both excited about the shelter.
“We have built a presence here with the homeless community,” said Mayberry. “We have developed a relationship with the homeless and I think the city caught wind of that. When I came here about seven years ago, the founder of this church had a vision for this building to be a multi-purpose benefit for the community and so this is in line with that mission.”
The Harambee Center offers meals every Saturday between 4 and 6 p.m. Its website describes it as “The Refuge: a homeless ministry which provides a warm place to have dialogue, eat a meal and receive personal hygiene kits and tools to survive without shelter.”
Prince said working with the City of Renton to accomplish the goal of opening up its doors was not challenging at all; together with Catholic Community Services they were able offer its building. Renton provided $10,000.
The nonprofit Harambee Center offers a broad range of services to the community, including after-school programs, church services, dinners and now an emergency shelter. But Prince said they still need help from the community in all aspects of their work.
“I know we will have some paid helpers here from Catholic Services, but beyond that we want volunteers to have extra presence here and have people to talk to if they want to talk. Maybe help cook breakfast, clean up and things like that,” said Mayberry.
“(On) Saturday nights, come down and meet the people here, check out the after- school program if you’re interested in volunteering,” Prince said. “ Find out what’s going on here and see if [you] want to contribute to the work that’s here for the sake of Renton.”
Traci Tate is a student in the University Of Washington Department Of Communication News Laboratory.
Cold shelter
The cold weather shelter will be operated on a first-come, first-served basis. People seeking shelter from the cold can enter anytime during the night, as long as space is available.
To determine if the shelter will be open, call 425-430-6600 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
