Cambridge Shelters Increase Capacity in Response to Winter Storm

Several shelters across Cambridge increased operational hours and capacity over the weekend while much of the East Coast braced for below freezing temperatures and record snowfall.

Shelters — including the Salvation Army, First Church Shelter, and the city’s Winter Warming Center — began preparing for an influx of residents last week as forecasts predicted up to 20 inches of snow by Monday night.

“The shelters in the city are going to basically take anyone who shows up,” Councilor Marc C. McGovern said. “They can go above their occupancy requirements or occupancy limits, and so anyone who wants to come in and get shelter will be able to in any of the shelters that are operating in the city.”

First Church offers 14 beds in Harvard Square, operating from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. during the week. While the shelter normally stays open 24/7 during the weekend, it increased its hours to accommodate residents during the day until Tuesday.

“We’ve had plenty of lead time because meteorological science and forecasting has really become more precise over the last several decades, so we’ve been getting ready and making plans for probably six or seven days.” James R. “Jim” Stewart, the director of First Church, said.

Cambridge’s Salvation Army, which provides 48 beds overnight and serves as a warming center during the day, previously accepted drop-ins for the warming center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. But as temperatures have continued to drop over the last few weeks, the warming center shifted to stay open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bree N. Barker, the director and corps officer for Cambridge’s Salvation Army, said that the shelter would accept residents regardless of capacity. The warming center hosted around 50 people on Sunday in addition to the 48 who stayed overnight, she said.

“If we have more people show up than we can hold, we will open up different spaces so that people can stay warm just to make sure everyone has what they need,” Barker said.

Shelters have also increased food supplies and winter clothing to brace for the accrued number of guests over the weekend.

“When it is extreme weather, we just try and take some extra precautions to make sure we have additional supplies on hand,” Barker said.

Safety concerns also extend to residents impacted by power and heat outages due to the storm. Some residents have already flagged heating failures, raising questions about their well-being as temperatures drop, according to McGovern.

“If you have some 80-year-old senior citizen who loses their heat, you’re probably not going to take that person to the wet shelter,” McGovern said. “How do you also ensure that you have a place for folks who are not unhoused, but during the course of the storm need to go somewhere else?”

The city’s Winter Warming Center, housed in the Cambridge Senior Center, added 10 beds for the weekend — opening space for 45 people from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

City officials encouraged residents to call the First Step Street Outreach Team — which dispatches social workers to provide support to unsheltered residents — if they see an individual in need of assistance.

The Street Team distributes meals, clothing, and other supplies across Cambridge and Somerville every evening under the Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation. The team provided transportation to the city’s warming center for those seeking shelter on Sunday and provided resources to those who refused shelter, according to a statement from the city.

Still, McGovern raised concerns for those who may choose to remain outdoors.

“What do you do if someone says, ‘I don’t want to go to a shelter’? Do you section them and force them to go to a hospital because you want them to be inside,” McGovern said, “Or do you respect their autonomy and say, ‘Okay, it's up to you. This is what’s available?’”

—Staff writer Isabel K. Crews can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ICrews94039.

—Staff writer Adelaide L. D. Roger can be reached at [email protected].