Winchester

In 2009 after a local man froze to death on the streets of Winchester, a group of faith-based leaders came together, seeking to do something to prevent this from ever happening again. The solution was right at their fingertips: their church buildings which were warm and sitting empty at night. Thus, the Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter (WATTS) was born and has operated every year during thermal season (November - March) ever since.

WATTS is a low-barrier shelter, meaning we seek to eliminate the barriers that may prevent someone from qualifying for other local shelter programs. We do NOT require identification, sobriety commitments, a background check, etc. as conditions for receiving a bed at night or assistance. We just want to get people in off the streets at night to a warm, safe environment where they may receive help. As a low-barrier shelter, WATTS serves adults experiencing homelessness (age 18 or over.)

Over the years, WATTS has grown and expanded to meet the needs of our community and the guests we serve. Today, we provide 21 weeks of overnight shelter from November to March, along with a daytime Warming Center in the winter, and a daytime Cooling Center in the summer, open seasonally. The counties we serve include Winchester, Frederick, Clarke, and Shenandoah in Virginia, with 87% of guests being local (born/raised in these counties.) In 2022, we began our Transition Out of Homelessness Program, a needed service with staff members who work year-round to assist our guests in accessing the resources they need to end their homelessness, setting them on the path to a safe, stable future.