Emergency Extreme Weather Center waits for activation in Sturgis

You can be unhoused and still have a job or a car, Krysti Boughton explained to Watershed Voice.

Boughton is an ex officio board member with the Emergency Extreme Weather Center (EEWC), 307 W. Chicago Rd. in Sturgis. The center averaged nine users per evening when it was first activated for an 11-day stretch last January at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Visitors came from all walks of life.

“There was a couple who were both employed and had a dog. They stayed every night. Another person worked for a Fortune 500 company. The community doesn’t always realize that somebody who’s homeless isn’t somebody who’s poor,” Boughton said.

November marked two years since the EEWC project began. It was founded by Boughton and her ex-husband, Bryan Boughton. The warming center’s current leaders include Board President Tony Heiser and Board Vice President Steve Wilson.

The EEWC differs in several ways from KeyStone Place, St. Joseph County’s emergency housing facility in Centreville. A crucial one is that the center only becomes activated once the temperature reaches or is forecast for 0 degrees or lower (whether ambient or based on wind chill) for six consecutive hours or longer.

Having enough volunteers on hand is also essential. Last winter, a pool of 30 potential volunteers became a roster of 12 active volunteers, Boughton said. With two people per four-hour shift each evening, eventually the same people were being utilized while the center was activated.

“My ex-husband and I worked the third shift every night,” Boughton said. “We would love to make our space more available, but we just don’t have the manpower yet.”

Toni Laughlin, the EEWC’s volunteer coordinator, is doing what Boughton calls a wonderful job of getting people to commit to volunteering while helping them know what to expect. This includes engaging with potential volunteers on the center’s Facebook page and holding training sessions.

“We don’t really need money, we need bodies (as volunteers),” Boughton said. “We need people in the building to make sure all goes well each evening.”

Currently, the EEWC is only capable of being open from 6 p.m.-8 a.m. during a weather event. The center does have a bus that can transport its users to the nearest St. Joseph County Commission on Aging warming center, which is open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

“We do have the manpower within the next few weeks if it’s a five-day weather event. If it goes longer than that, then it’s hard,” Boughton said.

Because the EEWC is a warming center, not a shelter, it can allow individuals who might otherwise not be able to utilize warming facilities. These include people currently under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or people whose records include sex offenses, Boughton explained. Last winter, the center was used by people who had just left the St. Joseph County Jail and LaGrange Hospital, among other locations.

“Our purpose is not to turn people away, or to judge people,” she said.

Boughton stressed the EEWC is a warming center, not officially a shelter. It cannot offer cots or beds to individuals. At the same time, nobody is going to be turned away if they happen to fall asleep at the center.

Currently, the EEWC is not yet its own 501(c)3. It is part of the St. Joe Community Co-Op.

“If citizens are interested in donating funds for supplies, all donations are tax deductible,” Boughton said.

Potential volunteers can visit the “Emergency Extreme Weather Center” page on Facebook or call 269-221-8293. Volunteers will need to complete an application and a criminal background check. The check is not meant to prohibit anyone from volunteering, Boughton said.

“Our sole purpose is to keep people from freezing to death,” she said. “We know our volunteers have big hearts, but we also know that we can’t fix everything in these peoples’ lives.”

As of Friday, December 6, the EEWC has yet to be activated. Boughton and company are ready, and eager for more opportunities.

“In a perfect world, we could be open when it’s 40 degrees.”

Frank Stanko is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.