BOZEMAN — Temperatures were higher than the HRDC expected during this past weekend's code blue, and the doors to its Warming Center were closed on Sunday, leaving some folks discouraged and cold.
Watch the report from MTN's Meghan Elaine here:
Chilling to the bone would be the only way to describe how being outside yesterday felt—that's what John Dinneny tells me outside of the Warming Center.
“It is too dangerous for some of the older folks and everyone here,” John says.
John stays at the roller rink-turned-warming shelter nightly.
A code blue was planned to go into effect Saturday into Sunday night, allowing homeless people 24/7 access to the shelter.
But during the day Sunday, their doors were closed, leaving an estimated 120 people wandering.
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“There were a few people that got pretty upset yesterday,” John says.
John tried multiple methods to keep warm: “I was trying candles and everything in my truck, but... I was always seeing my breath, so that's when I had to go to the library.”
So, what happened?
“If the forecast doesn't live up to what it's going to do then we have to make decisions on the fly,” Brian Guyer of HRDC says.
Guyer says code blue days cost them an additional $2,000 a day on top of their regular budget.
When temperatures were above 10 degrees Sunday, they decided to move a code blue to Monday. The low on Monday was 17 below zero.
“I would prefer to open 24/7, but funding for this work, operational funding for shelters just doesn't exist. It doesn't exist on a state level, it doesn't exist on a federal level,” Guyer says.
Guyer says the majority of their funding comes from grants and community support.
“If people feel like this is a priority, I would encourage them to support that legislation and reach out to their legislators and let them know that the shelters across the state need operational funding,” Guyer says.
Guyer says the community called in concerned when the doors were not open during the day Sunday.
“People were reaching out because of their concern for our unhoused neighbors, and that was encouraging,” Guyer says.
John is just thankful to have a place to stay.
“It is really helpful, just even staying here at night,” he says.