South Lake Tahoe Warm Room report card - A+; Volunteer training next week

The Tahoe Coalition for Homeless (TCH) made a presentation to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) board members Tuesday, updating them on the Warm Room, and how things have gone since opening in their new home January 1, 2018.

Their location for the 2018 winter is on Rufus Allen Blvd, near the Boys and Girls Club (BGCLT), the library, SLT Parks & Recreation Center, the ice arena, play fields, South Tahoe Middle School and school bus stops. When it was first announced that this would be their home for the winter, offering overnight stays to the homeless, many in the community voiced their concerns about the possibility of homeless people hanging out in close proximity to their children.

"I have immense gratitude for the Coalition," BGCLT Director Jude Wood told the school board. "It has been seamless with no issues," she said of the Warm Room's opening during their busy holiday week. Wood also said having homeless nearby is actually a great talking point for parents with the kids.

"It shows them our community is taking care of them," Wood said.

TCH met with school officials, the City, law enforcement, neighbors, BGCLT and others in the community to ensure the safety of all, and adjusted hours of operation and added a private security company to address concerns. According to TCH board members Rachel Yakar and Anne Davidson, the response from neighbors since opening has been a positive one.

One major change the coalition made to address fears was changing their closing time to 9:00 a.m., and keeping their 7:00 p.m. opening time. With the later time for the guests of the Warm Room to depart, they won't be our on the street when kids are boarding the school buses. Some guests do leave a little earlier due to work hours, and may leave by 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. to get to jobs.

Last winter, 26.3 percent of those using the Warm Room were employed, with almost 20 percent of those working in the ski industry and another 20 percent in the food/beverage field.

So far, demand at the Warm Room hasn't met the 2017 numbers since its been a rather mild winter, to date. In 2017 they housed 148 different individuals with an average of 27 guests a night. So far in the first 15 days of operations in the Rufus Allen building, they have seen anywhere from 8 to 20 a night, averaging 16 a night, so far. From Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve they ran the warm room out of the Presbyterian Church, During that week they had an average of almost 11 people.

To help with the demand for services, TCH is offering training for those interested in volunteering. No overnight volunteers are needed as there is paid staff for those shifts. Volunteers are needed nightly from 6:45 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

All volunteers must attend the January 22 training. It will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Warm Room, located at 1195 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

The coalition could also use donations for operations: 3 gallon trash bags, 55 gallon trash bags, paper towels, 16 ounce cups, decaf coffee, Lysol spray, all-purpose cleaner, granola bars and printer paper. Gift cards to local grocery stores or Costco, Kmart and Target are also appreciated.

For more information, visit their website at http://tahoehomeless.org, or call them at 775.573.0822.