Each year, the state requires Weber and other larger counties to submit a winter response plan to include additional beds. Having those beds becomes particularly important on days when Code Blue alerts have been issued.

Code Blue alerts are issued by counties when temperatures are expected to drop to 18 degrees — including wind chill — for two hours or more during a 24-hour period. The extra beds at The Lantern House will be available regardless of whether an alert has been issued.

The soup kitchen was offered as a temporary solution after the Weber-Morgan Local Homeless Council failed to secure a building to serve as an overflow shelter before the winter response period, as required by the state.

Lauren Navidomskis, The Lantern House’s executive director, told the Standard-Examiner that she expects around 20 of the beds will be filled Thursday night, with more people using them in the coming days.

“In the next week or so, I bet we get up to about 30,” Navidomskis said. “Since the winter season hit, we have opened up our kitchen for just warming chairs — more of a warming center, not an overnight shelter — and we have seen that demand between 25 and 27 people.”

There were some hurdles that needed clearing before the soup kitchen could serve as a temporary shelter with beds, however, including fire code compliance.

“In our main building, our fire suppression system is set up so at a lower temperature of heat, (the system) will go off. In our kitchen, that’s not necessarily the case,” Navidomskis said. “So, because it’s not adequate for sleeping in response to emergency protocol, we have to go under what we call fire watch through the Ogden Fire Department.”

Navidomskis says the fire department trained facility staff in fire watch protocol and, moving forward, a designated, trained staffer will be present each night the soup kitchen is open for sleeping to monitor the space.

While the increased nighttime occupancy at The Lantern House is expected to be sufficient for the county’s needs this winter, the Utah Office of Homeless Services and the local homeless council had previously established a target of 132 additional beds as part of the local winter response plan.

Weber County Commissioner Sharon Bolos told the Standard-Examiner that the search for a permanent solution is ongoing, as officials contend with that shortfall, as well as the annual challenge of securing buildings for overflow shelters.

“If we’re investing money in a lease and this is a building that we may or may not be able to lease next year or the year after, then it just seems like we would be better suited to serve that population if we had something permanent,” Bolos said.

Ideally, the county would purchase a building that could be utilized in some capacity year-round. However, finding a suitable structure with the proper fire suppression — and in a location that makes sense for both those experiencing homelessness and the local community — is an ongoing process.

To that end, Bolos says the county has explored the former Stevens-Henager College building in West Haven as a long-term option. With any prospective building, though, there’s a chance that local residents could push back against its use as a shelter.

“I assume that when and if we find a permanent space or a long-term space, that we might have to have those conversations,” Bolos said. “But we’re looking for locations that would have as little impact to the public as possible and places that make sense.”

In any case, Navidomskis hopes that the public at large will be compassionate as these options are explored.

“A lot of what we’ve seen throughout this is, ‘Not in my neighborhood’ or ‘Not in my community,'” Navidomskis said. “Our goal is to educate and advocate for our clientele, to tell the stories of where they’re coming from, and that they are your community. Like, these are not just Lantern House’s folks; these are Marriott-Slaterville’s folks, these are everyone’s.”

The state’s winter response period begins Oct. 15 and ends April 30. This winter, Weber County was unable to cover the entirety of that period as it struggled to secure a building. However, Bolos is confident that being forced to work later into the winter to find a temporary fix has given the county and the homeless council a jump on finding something more long-term for next winter (and beyond).

“Now, we are three months ahead of where we were last year when we started, and we know that we need to be more engaged in the conversations as a whole task force and not just members of the task force,” Bolos said. “We all need to be engaged in the conversations so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, and I think we’ll be more successful in finding a spot for 2025.”