The city of Aurora’s temporary overnight warming center will be open this week due to very cold conditions being forecast for the area.
The shelter is at Wesley United Methodist Church at 14 N. May St. in Aurora. The entrance is located through the courtyard that faces New York Street, with the door being seen under the ramp, city officials said in a press release Monday.
The center will be open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Wednesday night into Thursday morning and Thursday night into Friday morning, according to the release.
Each evening, a cot, snacks and water will be provided to those staying in the shelter, according to the release. Security will also be on-site at all times, city officials said.
The city’s temporary overnight warming center, which has been in use already this winter, is activated based on temperature thresholds, according to the release.
In November, the Aurora City Council approved an agreement to have Wesley United Methodist Church host and manage the warming center this winter.
Aldermen unanimously approved the agreement in which the city will pay an amount not to exceed $44,700 to have the church provide the warming center for up to 30 days during the winter, with 30 paid volunteers manning it.
The church warming center replaces warming centers the city has run on city property for several years. Running that sort of thing on city property has been somewhat problematic for the city, especially since it was usually in the Aurora Transportation Center, which is the depot for Metra commuter trains and Pace buses.
Last year, a security problem arose when someone came to the shelter with a gun, officials said, and forced closure of the warming center. At that time, members of Wesley United Methodist opened the church as a warming center on an emergency basis.
Martha Paschke, Aurora’s innovation and strategy officer, said this year the city wanted to follow what has been best practices nationwide to have the city collaborate with a not-for-profit for a warming center that would not be in a public building.
