Lakewood opens Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter

Published on February 22, 2023

Lakewood is opening its first-ever Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter for Wednesday and Thursday night to address a critical need in the community for those who are vulnerable to a lack of heat or shelter during cold winter weather.

This is a limited-capacity shelter with only 50 beds available, and it is designed to  supplement other shelters already available in Lakewood known as the Severe Weather Shelter Network and the support provided through vouchers for short-term sheltering at lodging facilities. All of these resources can be found at Lakewood.org/ColdWeather  when this page is activated during difficult winter weather conditions.

“This has been a winter with a lot of cold temperatures, and we have seen the need to help those who lack sufficient heating or housing increase,” said Mayor Adam Paul. “This is an important step the city can take to get as many residents out of the cold as possible.”

The Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter will be available from 7 p.m. Feb. 22 to 7 a.m. Feb. 23 and again from 7 p.m. Feb. 23 to 7 a.m. Feb. 24. The shelter is located in a portion of Lakewood’s Whitlock Recreation Center, which will be temporarily closed to recreational purposes.

This is the first city shelter to open, and Lakewood will activate this short-term shelter when weather conditions pose a significant threat to the health and safety of vulnerable residents. Additional information about the shelter is available at Lakewood.org/ColdWeather.