A warming center set up at the Hunt Memorial Building in Ellenville to provide shelter for the homeless during the winter months has won unanimous approval of the Wawarsing Town Board for funding. The vote on March 6 will keep the center going through March 31.

The warming center is a joint project of Ulster County, the Village of Ellenville and Ellenville Regional Hospital, that the county says has been in the works since January, and came together after the hospital stepped in.

The lack of any overnight shelter in the south of the county came to the forefront at the same time, when temperatures plummeted and Wawarsing town board member Mike Moschetta pointed out the years-old failure to establish one. "We have to do better," he declared.

The Journal looked into the obstacles and found a logistical bottleneck between county, town, and village on who would provide the funding.

County Executive Jen Metzger put together a $50,000 plan to share financing and contract Ellenville Regional Hospital to run an overnight shelter in the basement of the Hunt Memorial Building. The building has housed an unused Red Cross emergency shelter since the fall of 2022, with 12 beds, showers, and a kitchen.

The plan was approved by Ellenville in February, but Wawarsing held off in order to study the details. The Town of Wawarsing has now agreed to provide $10,000 of the cost, with Ulster County picking up the remaining $40,000.

The center was opened on February 10 and has been used by at least four people every night since then.

Metzger, Ellenville Mayor Evan Trent, and Wawarsing Supervisor Terry Houck all made a point of thanking Ellenville Regional Hospital CEO Steve Kelley for, as Trent said “stepping in to provide this crucial service.”

It’s the second big collaboration between Wawarsing and Ellenville in the past year, coming after they joined forces on a large project to rehabilitate Berme Road Park’s sports facilities. Town of Wawarsing Councilmember Johnny Frost called the warming shelter “a testament to what we can achieve when local government and community partners come together with a shared purpose.”

The warming center is at 2 Liberty Street, accessible through the side door. It is open every night from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Food is provided upon arrival and breakfast is served in the morning.