For its second year, the Winter Welcoming Center located at 1433 West Sims Way is offering a safe and dry place for those who might be experiencing homelessness this winter.

The center opened earlier this year, with a special emergency proclamation from the city council before the cold snap Nov. 30 - Dec.1.

The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., but will extend its hours to 4 p.m. if the weather is bad and funding allows.

The need is still present, said Julia Cochrane, one of the organizers of the center.

“Last year, our first year of operating, we had a death the day before the center opened and the day after,” she said, mentioning the death of Cassandra Aldrich, who was living in a tent behind Les Schwab and died of hypothermia during last February’s winter storm and Paul Gomes, a veteran who had been living in his car and died of a heart attack shortly after the center shut down for the season.

The warming center first opened in the midst of last February’s storm, as a project of the Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition. It was spearheaded by Cochrane, who is a homeless advocate, Paul Heins, pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Port Townsend and Elisabeth Heiner, a church member who is also a mental health professional.

With the help of donations and volunteers from church members and community members, they leased the small space next to DK Nails and Bonita’s Four-Legged Friends as a “warming center,” where those who are experiencing homelessness can warm up in cold weather, drink some coffee or tea and have a snack. It provides a place for people who spend their nights in the American Legion homeless shelter, which is open at night from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. (During low temperatures, the American Legion shelter stays open 24 hours a day and is open to all.)

Beyond providing a place to warm up when the shelter is closed during the day, the Welcoming Center also offers Internet and phone service and bus passes for people who are in need of transportation.

“Last year was a huge learning curve,” Cochrane said. “We knew nothing at the start. This was just an idea.”

The team hired staff people to be at the center during its open hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and volunteers were on hand throughout the day, too. Donations from the community allowed them to provide warm clothes, packaged snacks and hot drinks for those who needed it.

Cochrane said it was unpredictable when the center would be full of people. During wintry, wet and cold days, the small space was full. But even on nice days, it could still be full, she said.

Getting people indoors is the main motivation, Cochrane said, as it can be hard on both their physical and mental health to be moving from place to place constantly.

“Having this spot where people can come and be a part of a welcoming group and feel comfortable is the first step to helping with some of the healing that can be done,” said Alan Brown, one of three employees at the Welcoming Center.

Brown works three mornings a week and has gotten to know many of the people who come regularly to the center.

According to Brown, one specific need of the center is volunteers to help with social work. That might mean helping someone apply for a job, make health care appointments, or fill out forms to renew their social security benefits.

The center could also use regular volunteers to sign up to cover morning shifts. This volunteer shift is perfect for retirees who have mornings free and want to help out the homeless community.

The center also has monetary needs. In order to stay open until 4 p.m. on bad weather days, it needs to raise an extra $52 for each day.

On top of that, the center needs items such as warm clothes, hats, gloves, socks and raincoats; daily and monthly bus passes; pre-packaged food; fruits with peels like oranges and bananas; and donations to Mom’s Laundry’s fund for the homeless.