The only overnight, low-barrier warming center in Fairbanks was set to open for the winter on Thursday, but the organization operating it says they need more money to get through the season.

The nonprofit HopeLink runs the warming center. It isn’t a shelter, and sobriety is also not a prerequisite for entry. That’s part of what distinguishes the center from services offered by other Fairbanks organizations, like the Rescue Mission, which runs an overnight emergency shelter — the only one in Interior Alaska — but requires people to be sober.

HopeLink Founding Board Member Savannah Fletcher said the warming center is a nightly place for people experiencing homelessness in Fairbanks to duck the Interior’s extreme wintertime cold.

“We provide snacks and a place for people to sit and get war

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