Juneau’s cold weather emergency shelter opens Wednesday night.

It’s the third year the shelter will be located in a warehouse in Thane, about a mile from downtown. It’s funded by the city and operated by staff from St. Vincent de Paul, a local nonprofit that works to help people affected by homelessness.

Jennifer Skinner is the executive director of Juneau’s St. Vincent de Paul chapter. She said the shelter is critical to keeping people alive during the cold winter months.

“The most important part of having this option for our unhoused population is that it gives them a safe, dry, warm place to be overnight, where otherwise they would be out in the elements,” she said.

The shelter accepts anyone who comes in search of a place to sleep, as long as they aren’t disruptive to o

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