MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — An emergency cold weather shelter is now open in Mount Vernon, but it almost didn't open at all.
It's part of a much bigger problem in Skagit County.
Victoria Gomez has endured four Washington winters. She says she never feels more homeless than when it turns bitter cold.
"You realize you're at the lowest point you've ever been in your life," says Gomez.
She stays at a day shelter run by Welcome Home Skagit to stay warm when the sun is up, but it closes at night, leaving most with nowhere to go.
With temperatures now dipping into the single digits, a lack of overnight housing could be deadly.
For the past few years an emergency cold weather shelter has been housed at a local church, but this year a communications and planning mix up with its managers meant it couldn't open.
That sent chills down Gomez's spine.
"It terrifies me, the thought of freezing to death. I can't imagine that, knowing that you're dying," she says.
Sarah Vogt runs the day shelter. She says everyone was blindsided by the announcement that the emergency shelter wouldn't open.
Sarah says there are only enough beds for about 25% of the homeless people in Skagit County.
In 2023, there were 533 unsheltered people in the county. That's up 70% from the year before.
Experts say that number is likely much higher.
"The number of homeless is increasing in this area," says Vogt. "Housing is not going to be built in time to house all of the people in need -- despite the county and city's efforts to put together vouchers. Housing is not available and there's nowhere in between. There needs to be somewhere in between."
Sarah says that "in-between" must be a permanent, 24-hour shelter for Skagit County, but that's not up for consideration right now.
Instead, county and city leaders are working on a "regional approach."
"Part of that is looking at the root causes of homelessness and how we can address them before people are on the street or need shelter situations," says Jenn Rogers, a spokesperson for Skagit County.
Sarah and her crew at Welcome Home Skagit have stepped up and are running the emergency cold weather shelter, but she knows it's just a temporary fix.
As the cold spell lingers, the overnight shelter is only scheduled to be open for one week.
This is as the cold reality of homelessness sinks in for Gomez.
"It's disheartening," she says. "In the cold, you really feel your homelessness. We know we're homeless, but when you're cold, you can feel it emotionally."