PORTLAND, Ore. — Inside a warming shelter at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, dozens of people sought warmth on Friday as frigid temperatures persisted across the Portland metro area. It's one of five severe weather shelters where Multnomah County, the City of Portland and other partners provided meals, behavioral health and medical support.
Rachel Pearl, deputy director for Multnomah County's Department of County Human Services said that in this severe winter weathers, the shelters are quite literally a life-saving effort.
"These temperatures are different and people can't survive outside," said Pearl. "The temperatures that we've been experiencing here in Portland are not temperatures that folks can be outside and stay safe — and if they do stay outside for prolonged periods of time, their life is at risk."
By Friday afternoon, the Reynolds warming shelter had seen 77 people seek shelter there. They were over-capacity at that point, but were hoping to expand beyond 100 as long as they had enough staff and volunteers to do it safely.
Safety was likewise top of mind at Blanchet House in downtown Portland.
Gabby Thuillier, Blanchet House's community engagement manager, said that no matter what the weather, they do everything they can to keep their doors open Monday through Saturday in order to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to those who need warm meals.
"Really it is more than a meal, it's a place to get some warmth today, a smile, friendly community with others," said Thuillier. "Just a little bit of light on what may be a cold and dreary day."
That same cold and dreary weather has created a lot of challenges for firefighters, according to Rick Graves with Portland Fire & Rescue, as the bureau received an increase in calls overnight as a result of the weather.
Graves said that many of the calls were to provide assistance to vulnerable people on the streets before they were taken to safety. Those welfare calls, on top of their regular emergency calls, have strained resources.
"The difficulty as a result of the weather certainly both created a larger number of calls and impacted our abilities to respond," Graves said.
He asked for patience and for people to shelter in place if at all possible
"If you need a ride, contact 211, which would be a way to attain a ride to available shelter space," he said.
That would be a warm shelter space like at Reynolds High School, or at another of the Multnomah County cold weather shelters.
"So that's our effort at this time — to ensure that we can save lives and keep everyone safe," said Pearl.
The Reynolds warming shelter, as well as the others, are expected to remain open until Saturday morning, when the forecast calls for warming temperatures in the Portland metro area.
In the meantime, they are still looking for volunteers at Reynolds, at least from people who can safely get on site.