Last night, temperatures dropped to 30°F, with wind chills reaching 24°F. A layer of frost covered everything this morning—clear evidence that it was freezing overnight.
Yet again, the shelter was closed.
Why? Because Whatcom County continues to rely on inaccurate forecasts instead of real-time conditions.
This isn’t an accident. This is a broken system—a system that fails the most vulnerable people in our community. And the county refuses to fix it.
A Shelter That Stays Closed While People Freeze
Let’s remember what we already know:
• The county publicly pledged to consider wind chill and precipitation when deciding whether to open the shelter. They have not done so a single time.
• The county ignored 957 people who signed this petition demanding a higher temperature threshold.
• County Council asked Executive Satpal Sidhu for cost estimates to operate the shelter at 35°F or 40°F. He never responded.
• 15 nights where the shelter should have been open—including nights when temperatures dropped to 24°F and wind chills hit 22°F—but the doors remained shut.
• On multiple nights, it was literally freezing outside, yet the county did nothing.
• There are still over 20 fully funded nights available through March—but the county is choosing not to use them.
• The lease for the shelter is paid through March. The building is there, it is available, it is funded—yet it is sitting empty.
• The City of Bellingham pledged $150,000 to keep the shelter open if funding ran out—but the county never needed it, because they aren’t even trying.
The Staffing Shortage Excuse is a Lie
The county keeps claiming they don’t have enough staff. But let’s look at the facts:
• Job postings were only open for four days before they were taken down.
• Multiple highly qualified applicants applied and never even received a response.
• Volunteers who stepped up were ignored.
If there was a true staffing crisis, the county would have actually tried to hire people. They didn’t. They made sure failure was inevitable.
They Claimed They Couldn’t Find an Operator—That Was a Lie Too
The county also says they “couldn’t find an operator” for the shelter. But here’s what they actually did:
• They posted a 15-page Request for Proposals (RFP) for only 10 business days—then declared nobody applied.
• They made it nearly impossible for anyone to apply, then used that as an excuse to leave the shelter empty all winter.
Meanwhile, other shelters around the country operate just fine in far worse conditions.
Real-Time Weather, Real-Time Failure
It is still winter. It is still freezing. At the time of this update, it is below freezing outside, and the shelter remains closed.
There is no excuse for this. There is no justification for letting people sleep in these conditions.
Whatcom County is deliberately failing its most vulnerable citizens.
This Must Change—And It Must Change Now
• The county must stop relying on inaccurate forecasts and start using real-time conditions when deciding whether to open the shelter.
• The county must stop lying about staffing shortages when they refuse to hire people who apply.
• The county must stop pretending there is no funding when there are still 24 nights of funding left—and a $150,000 emergency fund from Bellingham.
• The county must be held accountable for leaving people outside in freezing weather when a paid-for, fully funded shelter sits empty.
What You Can Do
1. Share this petition again. The more people who see it, the harder it will be for the county to ignore us.
2. Email County Executive Satpal Sidhu and demand real answers. Ask him why the county refuses to use the funding they have.
3. Call your County Councilmembers. Demand that they pressure the county to stop this preventable neglect.
We have the resources. We have the space. We have the funding.
The only thing missing is the will to act.
We cannot let this go unanswered. People’s lives are at stake.
Sign and share now: https://www.change.org/WhatcomWinterShelter
With Gratitude,
Tukayote Helianthus