BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Temperatures dropping into the single digits have left some people looking for a warm place to stay. Some shelters have opened in our region, but is there enough room to meet the demand?
“It’s a lifesaver– it saves our lives,” said Lee Charbonneau of Burlington. “Without this, a lot of us are in trouble.”
Charbonneau was among the dozens seeking shelter at Feeding Chittenden Friday, as bitter cold temperatures swept through the region.
Reporter Cam Smith: Do you have a place to go tonight?
Lee Charbonneau: Don’t have a place to go tonight… They’ll tell me that there’s nothing in town, that there’s things out of town in Rutland, but I don’t have transportation. I’m 60 years old, I probably won’t even make it through the night.
In December, the city of Burlington opened up 30 beds at the former VFW building, but only as an overnight shelter. Anna Karhu secured a permanent bed at the VFW shelter when it opened.
“We’re lucky to have known about it in the beginning and we jumped right on that permanent bed– and it’s nice to be out of the cold,” Karhu said.
But some are not as lucky, oftentimes being turned away due to a lack of space. City data shows a 175% jump in people who are unsheltered over the past year.
Peter Dragon, the executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, says other beds have opened at the Champlain Inn and the Samaritan House in St. Albans, but it’s not enough.
“We have got to get to a place where this is a priority. It’s a public health emergency for people experiencing homelessness. We’ve got to take care of this– all of us,” Dragon said.
The Vermont Department for Children and Families says it currently has capacity in state-funded emergency shelter programs for 488 households but is currently turning away about 60 callers every day.
Fire officials say when the temperatures drop, hypothermia can set in within minutes. So it’s best to be prepared for the conditions.
“Folks just simply going outside for what would have been a normal walk can come back and find themselves starting to see that white patchy, that waxy feeling on their nose, fingertips, cheeks, things like that, so, bundle up,” Williston Fire Capt. Prescott Nadeau said.
Nadeau says for alternate heat sources like a space heater, plug them directly into the wall, and keep them at least 3 feet away from flammable objects.
For wood stoves, make sure your chimney is clear and the fire doesn’t get too hot. And with fire comes another important reminder: “Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Taking five seconds to push the test button and make sure they’re operational could save the life of you and your loved ones,” Nadeau said.
Fire officials say it’s also important to let your faucet trickle to make sure your pipes don’t freeze. They say you can also open up the cabinet to let your home heat keep pipes warm.