With overnight temperatures expected to hover in the low teens and single digits through the weekend and events already pre-planned at the facility that regularly is available for the area’s homeless during cold nights, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong agreed Wednesday to open the department’s Ormsby Room inside its administrative office on Friday and Saturday night.
The decision came after Furlong was contacted by Steve Brunner, deputy director of Carson City Parks and Recreation, which manages the Fuji Park facilities south of town. Parks and Rec provides a cooperative agreement with Friends in Helping Service, also known as FISH, for maintaining a supervised warming shelter for the homeless during especially cold nights. The Fuji Park facilities were pre-booked for events this weekend.
“It has never been done before. But with assurance from FISH who will have a warming shelter manager at the station, we will try this to see if it works,” said Furlong.
The warming shelter consistently sees anywhere from 4 to 10 people at the Fuji Park facility. Furlong said the numbers may increase this weekend due to the temporary shelter at the sheriff’s office being closer to downtown than the south Carson City facility.
Or the numbers may not go up, he added, because it is the sheriff’s office. Some of the homeless will have to take into consideration that they are staying at the sheriff’s office. The warming shelter at Fuji Park allows intoxicated people to stay as long as they are not disruptive.
The Ormsby Room at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office at 911 East Musser Street seats around 70 people. As far as bedding and cots, which will be brought in by FISH as part of the warming shelter staff, there may be room for 25 to 40 people to sleep, said Furlong.
“We are trying this and to see how well it goes. How well this one succeeds will determine if we will do it again if need be,” said Furlong.
The warming shelter at Fuji Park began again Tuesday night and will likely run Wednesday and Thursday night because of extremely cold overnight temperatures. The temporary shelter at the sheriff’s office Ormsby Room will run from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
