Warming Center Opening Following Extended Power Outages

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At 6 p.m. Friday evening, Milwaukee County will open the Clinton & Bernice Rose Senior Center in Rose Park, 3045 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., as a warming center for residents that have not had their power restored.

“Residents can walk-in to the Clinton & Bernice Rose Senior Center without appointment and are welcome to stay through the night,” a statement from Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s office said.

The warming center is being opened with assistance from the American Red Cross and the City of Milwaukee Health Department.

Thousands of Milwaukee County residents lost their power during the heavy winter storm that lasted from Thursday night into early Friday morning.

More than 100,000 households across the state also lost power, according to We Energies. Heavy snow buildup during the storm led to downed power lines.

At 3 p.m., approximately 8% of Milwaukee County was still without power due to the large number of different outages.

Milwaukee County is encouraging residents to call 211 for more information on warming shelters.

There are only two other warming shelters in the City of Milwaukee, at St. Ben’s Parish, 930 W. State St., and Repairers of the Breach, 1335 W. Vliet St. This has led the county to open facilities, like the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center, during extreme weather events.

Crowley declared a snow emergency Friday morning that lasts until Saturday. This declaration closed all non-essential county facilities, including the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Vel Phillips Detention Center, and Coggs Center.

The county’s behavioral health crisis mobile crisis teams are still working and the county is encouraging residents experiencing a psychiatric crisis to call the 24-hour crisis line: 414-257-7222.