The Berkeley Winter Shelter opened Monday in the former Emeryville Recreation Center.
Dedicated to housing individuals during the coldest months of the year, the seasonal shelter is typically located in Berkeley’s Old City Hall but had to relocate this year due to ongoing repairs. The 24/7 winter shelter has been run by Dorothy Day House, a Berkeley-based nonprofit organization dedicated to ending homelessness, since 2019.
Berkeley contacted the city of Emeryville this summer about Dorothy Day House using the former recreation center on 4300 San Pablo Ave. for the Berkeley Winter Shelter.
The Emeryville City Council authorized a license agreement with Dorothy Day House in September and the Emeryville Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit Oct. 23.
Dorothy Day House will operate the Berkeley Winter Shelter 24/7 until Apr. 15, 2026 and provide 25 beds and three meals daily.
According to Berkeley city spokesperson Seung Lee, the shelter serves mostly seniors who have been unhoused or in unstable housing situations for an extended period of time.
According to Dorothy Day House’s program overview of the Berkeley Winter Shelter submitted to the city of Emeryville, 98% of individuals transition into stable housing after spending the winter months in the shelter.
“From our records, more than 90% of Berkeley Winter Shelter participants have not returned to the streets once spring came around,” Lee added.
According to the city of Berkeley, individuals seeking shelter can call 211 or go in person to one of Berkeley’s several housing resource centers. These centers will assess individuals’ history of homelessness, barriers to housing and disabilities or vulnerabilities and refer them to services such as the Berkeley Winter Shelter. Since 2021, the Berkeley Homeless Response Team has also conducted outreach to individuals in encampments to connect them to shelter, according to Lee.
According to Berkeley City Manager Paul Buddenhagen’s memo to the Berkeley City Council on Dec. 12, community partner teams will also do direct outreach to individuals on the street to “maximize chances that Berkeleyans get first access to our shelters.”
In addition to the shelter in Emeryville, there is a shelter on Center Street located in the Veterans Memorial Building that will open if weather criteria such as rain and cold temperatures are met. The shelter opened early this year, on Nov. 15, due to an extreme weather event.
In order to meet concerns that Emeryville is further away, Berkeley Winter Shelter staff will also “assist clients with transit passes whenever possible,”according to Emeryville Assistant Planner Alyssa Chung’s Oct. 16 report to Emeryville’s Planning Commission.
According to Lee, the Berkeley Winter Shelter might remain in Emeryville next winter depending on the timeline of Old City Hall repairs.
“The city of Emeryville understood that homelessness is not just a Berkeley issue or Emeryville issue, but a regional issue,” Lee said. “Homelessness (is) not contained by city boundaries.”