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Cold weather shelters open as Seattle temperatures drop
On Thursday, the bitterly cold temperatures hit West Seattle and the Westside Neighbors Shelter opened its doors once again to around 48 people overnight.
SEATTLE - On Thursday, the bitterly cold temperatures hit West Seattle and the Westside Neighbors Shelter opened its doors once again to around 48 people overnight.
Shelter volunteers said the cold snap seemed to sneak up on people this time around.
"I’m here to help," said David Birdwell, Westside Neighbors Shelter volunteer.
Birdwell helps to run the laundry room at the shelter.
"Here everybody is happy and pretty much gets along," he said.
As a former Alaskan, he's seen first-hand how important shelters are and how quickly the cold can become dangerous for those that live outside.
"I’ve seen people frozen in the cold," said Birdwell.
The president of the Westside Neighbors Network says they've been seeing even more people coming into the shelter following the recent wave of cold weather, coupled with a recent camp cleanup in the Magnolia area.
"I think they said they had 10 people they couldn’t get to go to anyplace else. Well, six of those 10 ended up in my place," said Hughes.
He says the weather this week has packed a punch.
"This is number two for this year of a declared severe weather emergency. This one is colder than the last one," said Hughes.
He says it also appeared to catch many residents off guard.
"It’s been really rough on a lot of people, because I don’t think they were expecting it this time," said Hughes.
Dig deeper:
Birdwell says the streets are also especially dangerous this time of year for those experiencing addiction to fentanyl. He says users can fall unconscious and freeze or simply not feel frostbite setting in.
"They are numb and don’t feel the temperatures as bad as a person who wasn’t on fentanyl. They will stay outside and not come in. It blows my mind," said Birdwell.
Hughes says the shelter provides a lifeline for all, and thanks those who help to keep the doors open.
"Frankly, the vast majority of our donations are $25 or less. Lots of people, doing what they can, makes the difference, keeps us going," said Hughes.
In addition to sheltering people, Hughes says they've also been offering meals to more than 100 people every day for the past few weeks.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Westside Neighbors Network and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.