‘Near Aberdeen’ Cold Weather Shelter Efforts Terminated

Submitted by Grays Harbor County Public Health

After lengthy discussion with the Board of County Commissioners, Grays Harbor County legal department and Grays Harbor County Public Health, Chaplains on the Harbor has withdrawn from consideration for a contract for an emergency cold weather shelter just outside the Aberdeen city limits.

The announcement came at the regular Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning.

“Chaplains on the Harbor have met with our executive team, Public Health, and the County Commissioners separately to discuss next steps to the Aberdeen Shelter contract.  The (Chaplains) team agrees there is too much left to be done to meet the March 31 deadline and operate a quality shelter this season,” said Barbra Weza, Chaplains on the Harbor Executive Director. “We will continue street outreach and connecting houseless neighbors with resources.  We would like to thank the commissioners, Public Health, and the community for sharing their time and wisdom on this project, and want to continue building on the information learned to be proactive partners in mitigating the needs and gaps of the Grays Harbor County communities.”

Grays Harbor County Public Health Director Mike McNickle said, “The barriers presented by the potential site for the proposed cold weather shelter were too high to overcome in a short period of time.”

The proposed site was a house outside Aberdeen city limits off State Route 105.

“Chaplains worked very hard to make this work, but as new details emerged about the logistics of using the site, the site became untenable,” said McNickle. “We look forward to working with Chaplains on future projects as they are a vital resource for this community.”

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