During the coldest months of the year, with low temperatures and long nights, the neighbors served by Catholic Community Services (CCS) are often those most affected by the season’s weather. For people living outside, parents unable to afford winter coats, and families struggling to keep the heat on, the winter months are often the hardest.
With the support of our community, CCS programs have been showing up to serve our neighbors most impacted by cold weather, providing essentials that ensure the warmth and safety of the people we serve.
- Hope House in Bellingham offers warm coats, socks, gloves, hats, and thermals as well as blankets. For people sleeping outside, they provide cold-weather essentials including tarps, sleeping bags, hand warmers, and weatherproof shoes. They also offer a warm waiting room with coffee, hot cocoa, tea, and snacks where people are welcomed to come and warm up on cold days.
- Nativity House Shelter in Tacoma received over 100 bags in clothing donations from the annual Knights of Columbus Clothing Drive, which has been providing Nativity House with warm clothes to distribute to families and individuals experiencing homelessness for more than 20 years.
- Safe Parking Site in Tacoma brings cold weather essentials including hats, towels, sleeping bags, and winter coats to people living in their cars.
- The Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) program in King County adds hats and gloves to the essential needs bags they distributed in December to help the neighbors they serve stay warm.
- King County family centers and programs including the Queen Anne Food Bank and Issaquah Meals provide resources including socks, often from Bombas donations, hand warmers, hats, gloves, and scarves.
- Farmworker Center in Skagit County shares hats and coats with the farmworker families who visit, including the donation of hand-knitted hats from parishioners this year.
- The Community Health Worker program connected with a family who had recently moved to the United States and is currently experiencing homelessness. Our team provided them with winter clothing, a stroller for their baby, and connections to various social services. Those resources were essential to helping the family face the cold weather with a bit more comfort and hope.
These CCS programs stepping up to offer winter resources deliver vital support to our community during the colder months. Our neighbors experiencing homelessness are more impacted by cold weather due to their exposure to the elements.
Cold Weather’s Impact on People Experiencing Homelessness and Poverty
Research shows that people living unsheltered are at a greater risk of developing hypothermia and, consequently, a greater risk of death from hypothermia. Though Western Washington experiences relatively mild withers, hypothermia can still occur at temperatures above 40° F.
Cold weather can also provide challenges to low-income households with access to shelter or housing. When spending on heat increases during cold weather, research shows that low-income families end up spending less money on food.
All our neighbors deserve access to health, warmth, and safety all throughout the year. With the help of our generous donors and volunteers, CCS programs serve our communities with love, bringing families and individuals the resources they need to stay warm and safe this winter.