Seeking Warming Center Information

With temperatures getting colder, the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department’s Malcolm Lanham, Community Health and Threat Preparedness Director, met on Thursday with the Wood County Commission, the Wood County Sheriff and representatives from the Wood County Homeland Security/Emergency Management to discuss warming centers in Wood County and Parkersburg.

This week, there have been a number of churches and other organizations opening their doors to those needing to escape the dangerously low temperatures as warming centers, temporary locations that provide refuge from severe weather. None of the agencies that met on Thursday are hearing that they are having to turn people away due to being over capacity.  

The health department will utilize their Threat Preparedness team as an avenue of sharing information with Wood County residents through their social media and public information platforms. Churches and other organizations that open a warming center or overnight shelters for people to escape the weather, are asked to contact MOVHD’s Public Information Officer Amy Phelps at 304-588-9697, to share their location and hours, so this information can be shared more widely with the public. Those running the warming centers are also asked to contact MOVHD if they are having to turn people away due to overcrowding. 

Should MOVHD be notified that warming centers have reached their capacity, the Threat Preparedness team and volunteers will make arrangements with the Wood County Commission to open the Judge Black Annex in downtown Parkersburg to be used as a temporary warming center during the week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If MOVHD opens this warming center, they will work with the Wood County 9-1-1 Center to put out a countywide message via their Everbridge system. This will allow those needing to get off the streets and out of the weather a place to seek refuge until various kitchens open for meals and the shelters open in the evening.  

For any warming center that the MOVHD would open, animals would not be permitted inside unless it is a service animal.