UPDATE (7/5/21):
The Valley Women and Children's Shelter in Nampa has designated its dining room area as a place to cool down.
"We open our shelter in the daytime every hour on top of the hour. We let people in, and we have cold water for them and air conditioning. They can hang out in the dining room and beat the heat," said Tonya Giuliani, guest services manager for the shelter.
The shelter is run by the Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, a nonprofit that helps individuals or families experiencing homelessness.
Giuliani said they work towards providing housing to their guests.
“That lost their housing, lost their jobs, lost their families. Our job is to provide a safe place to heal, to restore hope, families, and faith. We have individual case plans for everybody that needs them that walk through the doors," she said.
The shelter also provides information on other cooling locations to their guests or those in need.
"We want to keep our guests safe. We want too keep people in need safe that’s what the shelters are for. If anybody out there is hot, exhausted, or dehydrated and need a place to come back in to cool off this is what we can provide for them as well," Giuliani said.
Below you'll find Valley Women and Children's Shelter contact information.
Phone Number: 208-475-0725
Meal Times
Breakfast – 6:00 a.m. (Daily – Overnight guests)6:00 a.m. (Daily – Available at Lighthouse Rescue Mission: 304 16th Ave. Nampa)
Lunch – 12:00 p.m. (Daily – Overnight guests)12:00 p.m. (Daily – Available at Lighthouse Rescue Mission: 304 16th Ave. Nampa)
Dinner – 6:00 p.m. (Daily)
Check-In
Overnight Shelter – 4:00 p.m. (Daily)
Call 208-475-0725 or come by to find out how to check in for the night.
Chapel
Service – 7:00 p.m. (Daily)
ORIGINAL
Designated cooling shelters are open in the Treasure Valley for community members looking for a place to escape the heat and cool down.
After July 2, cooling shelters at the main Boise Public library and Cathedral of the Rockies will close, but Interfaith Sanctuary plans to provide a space to cool down during the day on the weekends. Interfaith will also run its cooling shelter at the Linen Building in Boise, Monday through Friday of next week.
Corpus Christi House will also open up a space to stay cool through the coming week and next weekend.
In Canyon County, the cities of Caldwell and Nampa have set up their own cooling locations.
“We are experiencing extremely hot weather, and we wanted to have a cool place for the community members, especially vulnerable populations, to have a cool place to come get a drink of water, air conditioning, and have a way to get out of the heat,” said Amy Bowman, City of Nampa Communications Manager.
In Nampa, the sites include Nampa City Hall, the recreation center, the public library, and the Hugh Nichols Public Safety Building.
“To my knowledge, this is the first year we actually dedicated rooms and water for cooling locations. This is somewhat unseasonably hot for this long and so we wanted to make sure the community to come and have a place to get out of the heat,” Bowman said.
In Caldwell, the public library, senior center, and Veterans Memorial Hall are open as cooling stations. If there’s a high demand, the O’Connor Field house at the Caldwell Event Center would be used as another option.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of702 heat-related deaths occur in the U.S. every year, and more than 67,000 emergency department visits are due to heat, on average.
Below are the times and locations for the cooling areas in Nampa and Caldwell:
NAMPA PUBLIC LIBRARY MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM (located off the lobby) | 215 12th Ave South
- Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (closed July 5 in observance of Independence Day)
- Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
HUGH NICHOLS PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING IN BAKER ROOM (located off the lobby) | 820 2nd Street South
- DAILY, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (until further notice)
NAMPA CITY HALL LOBBY | 411 3rd Street South
- Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed July 5 in observance of Independence Day)
NAMPA RECREATION CENTER | 131 Constitution Way (The snack area located off the main lobby has been made available for families only. Please note this location does not include access to the pool or workout areas.)
- Monday – Friday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- HOLIDAY HOURS: July 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., open regular hours on July 5
CALDWELL SENIOR CENTER
- Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
VETERANS MEMORIAL HALL
- Monday -Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CALDWELL PUBLIC LIBRARY
- Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
