Brian Guyer is the emergency and supportive housing director at HRDC in Bozeman. He helps run the Bozeman Warming Center, which is open year-round.
“When the first winter weather arrives, you know we go kind of from an emergency shelter to really more of a life-saving operation,” Guyer said.
Throughout the winter, the shelter averages about 90 guests a night, with a maximum capacity of 120 people.
“We are concerned about exceeding our capacity this year,” Guyer said.
Guyer says they were able to avoid using an overflow shelter last year, but are seeking potential spaces for temporary overflow shelter.
The most recent Point In Time survey suggests there are more than 400 homeless individuals in Bozeman.
Just over the pass in Livingston, a smaller warming shelter, also operated by HRDC, is not financially able to operate year round.
Guyer says it costs about $45,000 a month, or $1,500 a night, to operate the Livingston Warming Center.
"So right now we have money to run it for two months," Guyer said.
Prioritizing the coldest months of the year without additional support, the Livingston Warming Center will be open January and February.
“The intent of the emergency shelter is to very simply to get as many people out of the cold as possible,” Guyer said.
The Bozeman Warming Center is located at 2015 Wheat Dr., Bozeman, Mont.
The Livingston Warming Center is located at 119 S 2nd st., Livingston, Mont.
To learn about the Bozeman and Livingston warming centers, visit the HRDC website, here: https://thehrdc.org/housing/homeless-services/emergency-shelter/
A previous very of the story misstated the amount of money it takes to run the Livingston Warming Center a night. It has been updated to reflect the cost of operation.
