The Columbus City Council approved legislation Monday to provide $2.3 million for warming shelters. The council also approved an additional $200,447 sourced from remaining funds for extreme weather resiliency programs to construct a new winter overflow center on the city’s west side.
The city’s primary coordinator of shelter and support for Columbus’ homeless population is the Community Shelter Board (CSB), which regularly partners with shelters, libraries, recreation centers and churches to provide services.
The CSB currently has three overnight shelters in the city, with the west side shelter planned to be the fourth. It’s scheduled to open on Dec. 29. Two more overnight centers are set to open on Jan. 1. Some warming centers allow pets, and all are co-ed, to avoid separating families…