Is there any humanity left in Fresno’s leaders? It’s a fair question when the mayor and the City Council refuse to open warming centers even when temperatures drop to 35 degrees.
Although the mayor and all the City Council members were asked to comment on this article, only newly elected City Council Member Nick Richardson (District 6) responded. “The circumstances that have led to Fresnans being unhoused present both a humanitarian issue and a public safety issue,” he said.
“Those who fail to see the public safety issues lack practicality. Those who fail to see the humanitarian issue lack compassion. True leadership is seeing both.”
He went on to elaborate on the warming center issue raising several concerns. “Warming centers are not permanently outfitted and designated for inclement weather use. In fact, all the warming (or cooling) centers used by the City are public community centers or schools that were occasionally repurposed to house local citizens. These included the community centers at Ted C. Wills, Mosqueda [and] Maxie Parks and Pinedale Elementary School.”
Richardson also addressed the issues of costs, logistics and temperature thresholds, as well as community members’ concerns about safety and unhoused people staying around warming centers during the day. His response was noncommittal yet thoughtful. He said that he is willing to meet with advocates on the issue.
On Jan. 26, about 70 community members including many who live on the cold hard streets of Fresno joined forces with advocates to demand that the City open its three warming centers for the duration of winter and open a fourth in north Fresno, citing the current policy of only opening warming centers at 34 degrees as inhumane and unreasonable.
They gathered at the Ted C. Wills Community Center to let the mayor and the City Council know that Fresnans are concerned about people literally freezing to death and will stand for justice for unhoused community members. In addition, they demanded an end to the arrests and blatant civil rights violations of unhoused residents.
The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued several freeze warnings for the Central Valley this winter. Astoundingly, even though the temperature dropped to 34 degrees in the City of Fresno on the nights of Jan. 26 and 27, the warming centers did not open. City policy states that the warming centers open when temperatures drop below 35 degrees.
Under pressure from community members and advocates, the warming centers opened on Feb. 8, 9 and 10 when temperatures dropped to 34 degrees again.
Dr. Farah Karipineni is a local doctor. She and her husband, also a physician, are volunteers and advocates for our street family members. At the Jan. 26 protest, she said, “During the winter, cold and wet conditions make our already vulnerable people outside even more at risk for hypothermia, frostbite and other conditions that are worsened by the cold.
“We ask the City to make warming centers more accessible [and] raise the temperature threshold. We must do everything we can to help prevent worsening illness in our most vulnerable patients out in the cold with weakened immune systems. I’m here today because I’m not going to be part of a society that just stands by and quietly watches this happen.”
Longtime advocate Dallas Blanchard is a staff member at the San Joaquin Valley Free Medical Clinic and Needle Exchange. He says that “34 degrees is entirely too low as a threshold for opening the centers. They say they need 72-hour notice to open the centers, and that’s a problem when fast moving storms come in.
“[Moreover,] the [Fresno Police Department’s] HART (Homeless Assistance Response Team) goes around throwing away survival gear, such as tents and blankets, that churches and other volunteers provide. It’s so inhumane.”
Harold is elderly man living on the streets of Fresno who had to replace survival gear stolen by HART. “I’m cold and I’m old,” he said. “I didn’t choose to be unhoused.
“Our leaders don’t seem to think it’s necessary to keep people warm, yet we send billions to other countries. It’s just wrong. I know others need help, but so do we.”
Eli Coleman from the Central Valley Brown Berets was at the protest. He spoke of growing up as an Indigenous person. “We were brought up to believe in taking care of your fellow human beings regardless of who they are or where they come from, or what they have or don’t have. It’s something that’s very integral to indigenous communities.
“If somebody didn’t have something, the community provided for them. This relates to the warming centers, [as the City] is withholding resources that is literally leading to people freezing to death in the streets.
“It’s very preventable, and it’s our obligation as human beings to hold each other in a good way and to provide for others. We are allowing our people to freeze to death on the streets due to mismanagement of funds and the lack of compassion and empathy.”
The public needs to understand that the unhoused people of Fresno, especially the elderly and disabled, are at risk of suffering from exposure and hypothermia. Many have no tents, sleeping bags or even blankets; some have no warm jackets.
The most common causes of hypothermia are exposure to cold weather conditions or cold water. However, prolonged exposure to any environment colder than your body can lead to hypothermia if you aren’t dressed appropriately or can’t control your body temperature.
Older adults are more likely to have a cold injury, especially hypothermia, because their normal body temperature often decreases with age. They can’t regulate their body temperature as well. They do not produce as much heat energy. They also have less body fat. Their blood vessels do not narrow (constrict) and conserve body heat as easily. They do not shiver as much, and shivering warms the body.
Their mental awareness of changes in temperatures might also change. They have medical conditions that increase their risk for hypothermia such as arthritis, thyroid disease, history of a stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart failure, poor nutrition, multiple sclerosis, body infection (sepsis) and skin conditions such as psoriasis. There are many other medical and health conditions that could contribute to cold injury and hypothermia as well.
Council Member Miguel Arias was at the Ted C. Wills center during the protest. He said he doesn’t think the City Council would consider expanding its operations at this time, claiming that the centers are underutilized. His position is disingenuous at best and inhumane at worst.
The City has opened the warming centers only one night so far this year (as of our press deadline). Last year, they were open only four nights during the entire winter. In 2022, the centers were opened much of the winter and were well used and often at capacity. Arias knows this because he visited the centers that year.
Take Action!
Contact the mayor and the Fresno City Council members, and ask them to keep the three warming centers open for the duration of the winter and to open a fourth center in north Fresno. Your efforts could save lives.
Mayor: jerry.dyer@fresno.gov
City Council Members:
District 1: annalisa.perea@fresno.gov
District 2: mike.karbassi@fresno.gov
District 3: miguel.arias@fresno.gov
District 4: tyler.maxwell@fresno.gov
District 5: Open
District 6: nick.richardson@fresno.gov
District 7: nelson.esparza@fresno.gov
