01 / A SAFE PLACE
Help close the facility gaps.
Alternate hosts are needed now for periods when the proposed primary facility has scheduled events. Locations and coverage are not yet confirmed.
Longview · Severe-weather response · 2026 to 2027
When the weather turns,
neighbors need a way inside.
Love Overwhelming is asking the City and the wider community to build an ongoing severe-weather response for Longview. Right now we need churches and organizations with a suitable space to help us find alternate host locations.
Offer a space for a nightaday@loveoverwhelming.org
The recorded October 8 Council meeting shows a 7–0 correction of the nightly rate to $1,886.25, followed by 5–2 approval of the amended shelter motion, with no abstentions. Agreement execution and the full governing operating terms still need confirmation. Shelter opening information will be announced separately.
A place for each of us
Nobody should have to be an expert in the system to survive a night in their own town.
You do not have to agree on everything to help a neighbor get through the night. Churches, community organizations, businesses and neighbors bring different views and strengths. A shared commitment to safety is a place to begin.
Deborah’s story · In her own words
Safety made room for her next step.
A safe night gave Deborah room to make her own choices. Hear her describe it in an existing Love Overwhelming interview.
“It kept me alive so that I could eventually make the choices that I made to change my life.”
Deborah · Short, 29 seconds; full recut, 3 minutes 37 seconds. Her individual experience is not a promise of the same outcome for everyone.
WATCH THE EXISTING STORY
Safety Made Room for Change
Watch the 29-second Short on YouTube
Watch the 3-minute, 37-second recut on YouTube
Historical interview. Original video published June 1, 2020.
Short published September 25, 2026.
Full recut published September 27, 2026.
Videos open only when you choose a link. No video player or third-party tracking is loaded on this page.
A practical plan
A safe night needs a practical plan.
People seeking safety deserve dignity, clear expectations and a voice in their next steps. Partners need clear roles and a plan they can follow through on. Empathy and accountability belong together.
02 / A SHARED PLAN
Bring your experience to the table.
Join an open, structured working meeting to identify needs, clarify roles and set next steps.
03 / LASTING SUPPORT
Keep building after this season.
Work to obtain and maintain funding, strengthen processes and prepare for next season.
Leadership that invites participation
She kept showing up.
Now she’s leading.
Angela Day, Shelter Director, and Melinda McCrady, Board Chair and President, are inviting the community to help make safe nights possible. They are bringing neighbors and organizations together to explore host spaces, connect available resources and clarify responsibilities, and the working group will continue into next season on funding and sustainable processes.
Angela DayShelter Director · Community working-meeting lead
Melinda McCradyBoard Chair / President · Public leadership
Angela Day directs daily shelter operations. Melinda McCrady is Board Chair and President. Organizational, contractual, financial and executive accountability remains with Love Overwhelming's executive leadership.
Love Overwhelming reports that Angela has helped dozens of households locate, obtain and maintain housing. She has pursued training and evidence-based practices and continues learning.
Love Overwhelming reports that its current full-time direct-support staff came through work-development placements with Lower Columbia CAP and the Kelso DSHS Community Services Office. Hiring depends on available openings and fit.
The people seeking safety and the neighbors helping make it possible remain at the center of this work.
Alternate hosts needed now
Your space could help close the gap.
Scheduled events create access gaps at the proposed primary facility, so alternate hosts are needed now. Churches and organizations with suitable space can help the team explore workable options.
The first step is a conversation.
We’ll talk through dates, space, staffing and shared responsibilities. Suitability and operating requirements must be agreed before any host commitment.
Ask about becoming a hostaday@loveoverwhelming.org
Alternate hosts have not yet been confirmed.
Facility event windows
These are event windows from earlier planning materials, not a confirmed list of nights without shelter.
December 4 to 62026
January 29 to 312027
February 17 to 222027
February 25 to 282027
How we know these dates
Earlier planning materials listed these facility event windows. Current Arts Center access and the exact uncovered nights still need City confirmation against the adopted agreement. The City must confirm exact uncovered nights before coverage dates are announced.
An open, structured community working meeting
Bring your voice.
Build what comes next.
Angela Day will lead an open, structured working meeting, with public leadership from Melinda McCrady. Neighbors, churches, businesses, organizations and people with lived experience each have something to bring.
LISTEN
Understand the gaps.
Start with people’s needs, facility constraints, and the resources already available.
PLAN
Agree on roles.
Identify alternate Arts Center sites, connect available resources, and agree on clear responsibilities.
CONTINUE
Build for next season.
Keep the group working to obtain and maintain funding and sustainable processes.
Meeting details to be announced.
Date, location and RSVP arrangements are not yet confirmed.
Request meeting informationaday@loveoverwhelming.org
Empathy and accountability, together
Care that respects people.
Expectations that support progress.
Listen with respect. Set clear expectations. Follow through on shared responsibilities. The goal is to help people access available resources and coordinated support, build self-sufficiency, and rely less on emergency services over time. These are goals, not claims of measured results.
Partnership status and public review
The recorded October 8 Council meeting shows a 7–0 correction of the nightly rate to $1,886.25, followed by 5–2 approval of the amended shelter motion, with no abstentions. Agreement execution and the full governing operating terms still need confirmation. Shelter opening information will be announced separately.
The recorded nightly-rate correction is $1,886.25. Funded scope and the remaining agreement terms need confirmation against the adopted agreement. Next-season planning focuses on obtaining and maintaining sustainable funding.
Read the latest October 8 Council packet. The packet is a terms reference; it does not establish the vote outcome or agreement execution.
Get in touch
For host conversations, meeting information, training or newsletter requests, email aday@loveoverwhelming.org.
This is Love Overwhelming’s general donation page.