‘I feel safe here’: Marysville shelter saves lives as temperatures drop

MARYSVILLE — Lonnie Caravello thought she was going to die.

On Saturday, she slept in her car in Marysville as temperatures dropped to a low of 30.2 degrees overnight. At 63, she recently lost her home and has been living in her car for the first time after an injury to both her shoulders prevented her from working.

“It got so cold, I was desperate,” Caravello said. “I was going to call the police and tell them, ‘I’m dying out here,’ because everything’s just wet. Everything’s just soaking wet.”

The following night, she decided to go to the Marysville Cold Weather Shelter at 7215 51st Ave. NE for the first time. It was nerve wracking — she was worried about her safety at first — but now sees it as a vital resource.

“I can’t believe the people are so kind and accommodating,” Caravello said at the shelter Monday night. “I feel safe here.”

The Marysville Cold Weather Shelter is one of six across Snohomish County, with other locations in Snohomish, Lynnwood, Monroe and two in Everett. Local nonprofits, volunteer groups or faith-based organizations operate the shelters with support from the county. They are open on days when overnight temperatures are expected to drop below 34 degrees.

Nathan Ray has been running the Marysville shelter for three years. It opened in 2021 after a “modified arctic front” brought prolonged freezing weather across the Puget Sound region.

The shelter has been open each night since Thursday. It has one job — keeping people alive — but Ray stressed care and respect are important parts of the shelter’s mission. The shelter is operated by LINC Northwest, a Marysville-based nonprofit.

“Let’s have some respect and dignity for our guests, right?” Ray said. “Simply because they don’t have a house right now or a place to stay doesn’t make them less of a person.”

Every night it’s open, volunteers provide a hot meal at night and a warm bed to sleep in, with occasional donations allowing people to take winter clothing with them for the next day. On Monday night, guests were served a roast dinner with mashed potatoes.

Volunteers stagger multiple shifts overnight, meaning two people are always on duty while guests are sleeping. One of Ray’s proudest achievements is the shelter has always had enough volunteers to open, if needed. About 30 volunteers help on a regular basis.

One of those is Toni Kief, who has worked at the shelter since 2022. A retired insurance agent turned author known as the “Marysville Litter Lady” after inspiring volunteers to pick up trash across the city last year, she hopes to make a difference by helping those who need shelter.

“I could see how easy it is, just one simple, bad decision, and here you are,” Kief said. “We’re really focused on seeing them, really interacting.”

On Monday night, she was helping intake guests. Everyone who comes in gets their temperature taken, and the average for guests is usually between 96 and 97 degrees, she said.

The normal human temperature hovers around 98.6 degrees, but can often vary between 97 and 99 without much danger. Hypothermia sets in when that drops below 95 degrees. Temperatures falling that low — either due to freezing temperatures or if a person is wet for long periods of time — can cause uncontrollable shivering, confusion, exhaustion and memory loss. If hypothermia is severe enough, it can kill.

“It’s being cold, all the time,” said Howard Cartwright, who has been homeless for four years. “You can’t go anywhere and get dry stuff. Feels like you’re going to die, you know? Imagine how that would be. This is every day, this is not a break. This is camping, 365 days a year.”

Cartwright, 50, first came to the shelter last year. On Monday, he started to get feeling back in his feet after about an hour in the room. Chris Angelbreath, 42, sat at a table opposite Cartwright. He lost his home a year ago after his condominium flooded, and hadn’t eaten in more than a day.

Years ago, when Caravello was living in Seattle, she would take her five children with her to pass out blankets and lunches to people on the streets.

“It could happen to you too,” Caravello said. “It could happen to any of us.”

She didn’t expect to be in the same situation as those people years ago, but the shelter — which has volunteers on duty all night and separates men and women to different sides of the room — has helped her feel safe. In fact, on Monday, she was looking forward to it.

Ray calls those who use the shelter guests, not clients or any other term. He feels it’s a sign of respect. It’s the same reason the guests sleep on comfortable mattresses, not cots, and are allowed to bring pets. Keeping people safe is the main goal, but keeping their dignity intact is just as important, he said.

“Most of us in Snohomish County are two, maybe three paychecks away from needing to be here every night,” Ray said. “How would you want to be treated?”

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.

More information

If you need help finding shelter, visit the Snohomish County Public Safety Hub’s website at https://tinyurl.com/msw2mzze for daily updates on openings, addresses and contact information.

Locations

South County Cold Weather Shelter: 17620 60th Ave W, Lynnwood. Intake from 7-9 p.m.

Snohomish Cold Weather Shelter: 210 Avenue B, Snohomish. Intake from 8-10 p.m.

Monroe Cold Weather Shelter: 342 S Lewis Street, Monroe. Intake from 8-10 p.m.

Marysville Cold Weather Shelter: 7215 51st Ave. NE, Marysville. Intake from 7-9:30 p.m.

Everett Family Cold Weather Shelter: 5216 S 2nd Ave., Everett. Intake from 4-8 p.m.

Everett Cold Weather Shelter: 2624 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Intake from 8-10 p.m.