Residents at a downtown Vancouver encampment described the cold weather Thursday as debilitating. The campers huddled around fires and wrapped themselves in blankets to try to stave off the biting chill that was deepened by fitful winds and slight rain. With temperatures hovering around 36 degrees, it marked the threshold for the area’s new winter shelter response. This change comes as part of a new protocol from the Severe Weather Task Force facilitated by the nonprofit Council for the Homeless. The task force, made up of service providers and faith-based organizations, aims to ensure rapid, coordinated responses to extreme weather. The task force recently increased its cue for the alert from 32 degrees to 36 degrees. The new threshold, triggered by a review of health models and local weather patterns, increased the temperature threshold to better respond to unpredictable conditions, said Sunny Wonder, chief operating officer of the Council for the Homeless. Hypothermia sets in when core body temperature reaches 36 degrees Celsius or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

The change increases safety and enables more effective planning when temperatures fluctuate throughout the week, Wonder said. By accurately identifying severe weather, the nonprofit can quickly mobilize resources by opening shelters, providing outreach and offering critical care to prevent life-threatening health risks, Wonder said. The severe weather alert was triggered Jan. 12. “This is really an effort for us to highlight what our resources are — to what level we need to respond that prioritizes the health and safety of everyone in our community,” Wonder said. ‘The cold makes everything harder’ David Slagh has endured many winters homeless. On Thursday, he tended to a fire he was sharing with his neighbor and described how he survives the cold. He said he uses two rescue blankets he received from outreach workers to insulate his tent. Each night, he buries himself under eight blankets to keep warm.

“It’s painful. Your body tenses up. You get aches and pains,” Slagh said. “The cold makes everything harder — even getting food when it’s just around the corner. It just paralyzes you.” All the campers The Columbian interviewed said they were on the waiting list for one of Vancouver’s Safe Stay shelters. One man, on his way to a warming shelter, said he was hopeful about the temperature threshold change but remained worried. “Will I get housed,” he said, “or will the outdoors take me first?” As winter shelters open more, they’ll need more volunteers and donations. Wonder said community members can help by donating items such as warm socks, snacks and hand warmers, either directly to people on the street or to the council, which will distribute them with its outreach teams. “This is always a moving target, but we’re really trying to be proactive so that we can be prepared for those big storms that we experienced last January,” Wonder said. “It’s really important that as much as possible, we’re not caught unprepared and are able to respond to the crisis.” Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the threshold for hypothermia. 

This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.