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OGDEN — While most Utahns were dealing with unbearable triple-digit temperatures across the state Saturday, residents at an Ogden homeless shelter were doing so without the benefit of air conditioning.
St. Anne's Center for the homeless is doing what it can to keep its facility at 137 W. Binford St. cool for people needing a place to stay. But with only one of its six air conditioning units working, that’s not easy to do.
“We are trying to get the AC fixed. It’s a matter of funding right now,” said Jared Legge, with St. Anne’s Center security. “We had a lot of fans break down over the past couple of weeks too, just ’cause they’re older fans.”
Workers said they weren't expecting the extreme heat so early this summer.
More than 100 people were expected to stay at St. Anne's shelter Saturday night. That was the case Friday too, when workers said some people chose to sleep outside in a nearby field because it was cooler than inside the shelter.
People staying at the shelter said they're trying to drink a lot of water, but there's not much else they can do.
“When we get upstairs — you think it’s hot now? It’s unbearable (upstairs),” said Wade Stafford, a guest at the shelter. “We have one fan for the whole men's dorms, and you have to go to bed sweating at night.”
St. Anne’s new facility — Lantern House — is scheduled to open in July. It's a brand new building and will have a working air conditioning system. But until it opens, workers are asking people to donate fans or cash to help fix the AC units.
Donations are accepted online at www.stannescenter.org/donate*, or you can call St. Anne's Center at 801-621-5036 for more information.
*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
