It takes a village to keep the vulnerable safe during inclement weather.

The Haven, Spin Cafe, two Oak Harbor churches, Island County government, many volunteers and firefighters worked together to make sure homeless people on North Whidbey had a warm place to go during the recent cold snap.

The Haven, which is run by the Whidbey Homeless Coalition, provides emergency overnight shelter to people out of Christian Reformed Church in Oak Harbor. But the organization, which has had recent staff turnover, isn’t able to shelter everyone in the community who needs it.

When the temperature dropped during the Christmas weekend, Island County Human Services contacted Michele Chapman, the executive director of the Spin Cafe, about opening up a 24-hour warming center at St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Oak Harbor. Spin Cafe, a grassroots organization, partners with the church to provide food and service to people in need.

Chapman explained that the county agreed to pay for Spin Cafe to run the shelter during the week between Christmas and New Years Eve, during which time snow covered the region and temperatures dipped well below freezing. Chapman said she ended up working many overnights by herself.

Island County offered to fund the shelter again this weekend, Chapman said.

In addition, the Oak Harbor Fire Department assisted Island County Department of Emergency Management, which coordinated the effort to provide Spin Cafe with cots and blankets, according to the city.

Chapman said The Haven takes in 18 people a night during the pandemic while Spin Cafe helped another eight each night.