Due to the frigid weather that the City of Pittsburgh faced this year, the CitiParks warming centers were activated several times to offer shelter to those living in the surrounding Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
But in Downtown, no CitiParks warming center exists.
There are six CitiParks warming centers located around the city in Beechview, Brighton Heights, Greenfield, Homewood, Sheraden and the South Side Market House.
All of the warming centers are held in a Healthy Active Living Community Center (HAL). The mayor’s office said that the lack of a CitiParks Warming Center Downtown is due to the fact that there is no Healthy Active Living location there.
The warming center initiative has offered solace from the cold to community members of Pittsburgh for over 20 years. During extreme heat events in the summer, the same places operate as cooling centers.
“This past winter, we had a bunch of really cold days,” Sue Lucas, CitiParks press officer, said. “Unfortunately, when the weather is that cold back-to-back, it’s tough on anybody who doesn’t have heat, perhaps frozen pipes or other unforeseen challenges.”
CitiParks Warming Centers are activated in the winter when the weather plunges below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and in the summer as “Cooling Centers” when the weather surpasses 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, a “cold snap” that would span three days struck Pittsburgh. The warming centers had 54 visitors on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, mobilizing CitiParks staffers who would normally have the day off, Lucas said.
These visitors include senior citizens, families and unhoused individuals.
During this cold snap, CitiParks worked with Second Avenue Commons, a shelter for unhoused people that was at capacity, and public safety officers to organize transportation to the Brighton Warming Center, and from there, to an emergency overnight shelter which opened in the evening, Lucas said.
“Our CitiParks team really does a great job,” Lucas said. “A well-oiled machine is a great way to describe it. We really work together hand in hand to make sure that we can mobilize for folks. That’s our job; serving the members of this city.”
Charlene Saner, Neighborhood Services Coordinator at the Beechview center who facilitates the warming centers, said that their location became a CitiParks warming center in 2023 by request.
“We love working with CitiParks for so many reasons,” Saner said. “They provide a staffer to aid during warming or cooling [center] activation.”
Located right off the T line, the Beechview center became a vital resource for many.
“We have families as well as individuals who are in need of somewhere warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” Saner said. “We also have those who are in need of a sense of community.”
The Beechview location is not as heavily attended as the South Side location, which is the most attended warming center due to its proximity to the Downtown neighborhood, Lucas said.
“Seniors tend to be a vulnerable population,” Lucas said. “This is just one additional way that CitiParks can ensure our seniors are safe.”
