SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Currently, there are no emergency shelters in San Angelo other than the family shelter, the Concho Valley Homeless Planning Coalition (CVHPC) has requested the use of the Carl Ray Recreation Center as an Emergency Warming Station for the duration of January 2023 through March 2023 as needed.

The CVHPC has in the past funded hotel stays for those who find themselves unsheltered during extreme cold, but funding is becoming problematic and has asked for the approval of the use of the Carl Ray Recreation Center as an Emergency Warming Station (EWS) during extremely cold weather for the duration of January 2023 through March 2023 as needed.

“I’m a believer in government and how it exists to benefit those under its care, but more importantly I’m a believer in people who inherently want to do the right thing,”  said Mike Burnett, Executive Director of CVCAA, “Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always easy, it isn’t always cheap and it doesn’t always make the populous happy”

According to Bob Salas, there is an average of 20 individuals using the shelter at one time when it is open with one night having 28 which nearly maxed the capacity of the shelter. The least amount of individuals using the shelter in one night according to Salas was 16.

The EWS will be manned by the CVHPC who will take responsibility for overseeing operations, including vetting participants and monitoring participant behavior, clearing the room to allow regular recreational activities, and maintaining safety and cleanliness.

The Recreation Center will still have normal operations and the warming shelter will be closed during the day.

This proposal was passed 7-0