By Adam Swift
The city is looking to bring its overnight warming center to the American Legion building on Broadway this winter.
For the past two years, the warming center has been operated through the city by the nonprofit Housing Families at the senior center.
Earlier this year, city Public Health Director Lauren Buck said the city was looking to open a warming center at a location on Revere Street this winter. However, several city councillors, including Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya, raised concerns about the location being in a residential neighborhood.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Guarino-Sawaya and several other councillors expressed their support for the new location.
“The last time I was here, we planned on using a location on Revere Street,” said Buck. “With the help of the mayor, we were able to secure hopefully a better location at the American Legion building. This will allow us to increase our capacity from the last two years we ran the warming center from 15 people to 24 people, which is a great expansion of services.”
The warming center would open on Jan. 1 or Jan. 2 and run through March 31, about a week later than it has been open the past two years, according to Buck. The warming center’s hours would remain from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The city is soliciting bids for the operation of the center. So far, Housing Families, which has operated the warming center at the senior center, has submitted the only bid, Buck said.
The plan is contingent upon funding, Buck said. She said the city has applied for a one-time grant from the state that would cover the majority of the funding for the warming center.
Buck noted that several neighboring communities, including Chelsea, Somerville, and Malden, have either operated warming centers for several years or are planning on opening one this year. She said Revere is in touch with all those communities to compare notes on the operations.
“I want to sincerely thank Mayor Keefe, he knew I was visibly upset I was for where this was projected to go, and I was completely caught off guard about this going on Revere Street,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “But (Buck’s) initiative and the mayor’s initiative to find a more feasible space for the warming center, which is greatly needed in the city of Revere, is greatly appreciated.”
Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri said the proposed location also highlights the American Legion’s continued support of the community.
“The Legion is losing a lot for three months, and thank god this grant will help them offset what they are losing,” said Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky. “The city is already starting to upgrade the building, a lot of the things that are needed for safety … they have already redone the floor in the big hall and it looks terrific. This is something that is needed, and I’m glad the Legion agreed to it and I’m glad the city agreed to offset whatever they need.”
