Cold weather creates full house at Tahoe Warm Room; Donations needed

It was a cold one last night, and 25 South Lake Tahoe area homeless found relief from the single digit temperatures at the newly opened Warm Room, operated by the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH).

The Warm Room opened on Thursday, December 15 after days of renovations to the long vacant building located at 2179 Lake Tahoe Boulevard. There are 25 beds, hot drinks and snacks for those coming in from the cold and spending the night.

On Thursday, their first night of operations for this winter, the Warm Room had 15 guests.

During their pilot season last winter, the Warm Room was open 102 nights, served 107 different guests and 4 families, providing 1620 nights of shelter to individuals in need. They averaged 18 people per night coming in from the cold.

They operate from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., have volunteers and staff on premises as well as having needed services available, such as mental health and social workers.

No families are able to stay, but TCH has made arrangements for them to receive a week's stay at a local motel if they meet the criteria.

There are 25 beds available at the new location of the Warm Room for this winter, just the number who utilized the accommodations on Friday. According to TCH board member Nicole Zaborsky, nobody was turned away.

The Coalition does need donations from the community, both financial and in needed items. They have set up a wish list on Amazon (click here) and are in need of about $10,000 to cover their opening costs for the winter. Please donate at tahoehomeless.org or mail checks made out to TCH, PO BOX 13514, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151.