PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — When the city declares a Code Blue during a bitter cold stretch, like the one the Philadelphia region is experiencing this week, nearly 20 so-called warming centers open their doors to give people a place to avoid the dangers of overexposure. KYW visited one to learn more about who they help and how they work.
There are nine daytime operations at public libraries and eight overnight operations at city rec centers. Two more, in Center City, operate 24 hours a day: Hub of Hope, open to men and women, and 220 North Broad Street, open to women only.
Hub of Hope has a capacity of about 80. Underground, and accessible from the City Hall SEPTA station concourse at 1400 Arch Street, it can be difficult to find. The stairs down to the entrance are just outside of City Hall, at the north end of Dilworth Park.
"The good news is that we are in the center of Center City," said Candice Player, vice president of advocacy and street outreach at Project HOME, the nonprofit that runs Hub of Hope. "We're literally underneath the Municipal Services Building, but we're underground, so that can make it hard to find."
Melissa stayed the night Monday with her son Colin.
“Last night, we were outside. It was really, really cold. So today we didn’t want to take a chance again, so we came here because we know that it’s a decent place,” she said.
“The only rough part is, you know, waiting.”
While they do not turn anyone away, says Player, sometimes the waiting can’t be helped.
“For safety reasons, for staffing reasons, we try to keep that capacity to 80 people. So it just means: one in, one out,” Player said.
And there is a period of time each day, from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., when they have to keep occupants outside the door—but still in the building—so staff can clean and sanitize the space, said Player.
“And we ask everyone to go up and out and get on the back of the line, because the people who are here for the daytime program are already starting to line up. But everybody can come back in.”
Player says Hub of Hope will provide shuttles to other warming centers if they can’t shelter everyone.
“By midnight, we can get pretty quickly at our capacity. Last week we had to have outreach and the Fire Department continue to transport at least another dozen people to the other warming centers.”
The nearly-11,000-square-foot Hub of Hope operates daily as a drop-in center, where people experiencing homelessness can find recovery services, medical care and case managers who can help them start the process of finding a permanent home. There are areas to sit, a clinic, bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities. At night, they set up cots for 75 to 80 people.
Colin says he and his mother prefer Hub of Hope to some other places.
“They’re not unit-friendly, I want to say. And I don’t mean it in a negative way. I more mean like—other places, you could easily be like on a whole opposite side of a hallway from who you’re with,” he said.
Colin says Hub of Hope is a good facility, but sometimes other issues can arise: “It depends, but you could have negative experiences with other people.”
That’s par for the course, says Player.
“People are here because they’re in crisis. Frankly, it is to be expected that people are on their last nerve,” she said.
“We often say that the behavior is in response to a need. So what’s the need?”
List of locations
The city says site locations may change on short notice because of operational needs. Check the map of locations online for the most current details.
Sites operating 24 hours daily
Hub of Hope
1400 Arch Street 19102
Open to men, women and couples
220 North Broad Street 19102
Open to women only
Sites operating 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Kensington Library
104 West Dauphin Street 19133
South Philadelphia Library
1700 S Broad Street 19145
Walnut Street West Library
201 South 40th Street 19104
Northeast Regional Library
2228 Cottman Avenue 19149
Nicetown-Tioga Library
3720 N Broad Street 19140
Logan Library
1333 Wagner Avenue 19141
Bustleton Library
10199 Bustleton Avenue 19116
Blackwell Regional Library
125 South 52nd Street 19139
Haddington Library
446 North 65th Street 19151
Sites operating 9 p.m. - 9 a.m.
Scanlon Rec Center
1099 E. Venango Street 19134
Martin Luther King Jr Rec Center
2101 Cecil B. Moore Avenue 19121
Di Silvestro Playground
1701 S 15th Street 19145
Wright Rec Center
3320 Haverford Avenue 19104
Russo Rec Center
7301 Torresdale Avenue 19136
Lonnie Young Rec Center
1100 E Chelten Avenue 19138
Finley Rec Center
7701 Mansfield Avenue 19150
Pelbano Rec Center
8101 Bustleton Avenue 19152