Due to extreme frigid temperatures moving into Chattooga County with the possibility of freezing rain/wintry mix beginning the early morning hours Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Chattooga County Emergency Management/Government and The City of Summerville will be offering a warming station inside the City Limits of Summerville for any citizens without a heat source to stay warm or that is without shelter. The warming station will be opened if there is a request only at this time, requests can be made starting on Monday, January 15, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. by calling 911 and letting them know there is a need for the facility. We want to get anyone out of the weather before the temperatures drop into Tuesday morning. The warming station location will be the Dewey Hoskins Gym, 150 Third St, Summerville, GA 30747. The gym is behind the CRC Chattooga (food bank) building off Highland Avenue, Summerville, GA. Again, if you need this facility you will have to dial 911, leave your name and phone number with the Communications officer so that we can have personnelcall you to meet you at the location. Law enforcement will be patrolling areas for any citizens without shelter and alert 911 of a need for opening the facility as well. If you are aware of any citizens without shelter and have contact with them reach out to see if they need assistance.
There are some rules to a warming station, this is not a Red Cross sheltering event. A warming station is open to the public to come in out of extreme weather. You will need to bring your own toiletries, food/snacks, blankets, pillows, family meds, personal items, etc. We do not have any supplies at this location. You are free to leave to purchase meals, snacks, etc. We will ask you to sign in and out to the facility so that we can verify if you will be returning or that you are no longer needing the facility. We do not want to shut it down if you need to return after running an errand.
Once we have a request and open the facility, we will be open until temperatures return to above freezing during the daylight hours. We are watching another weather event coming in on the next weekend that could bring in more frigid weather. We will update if the system produces a need for a warming station.
