2024 Green Grants Award #16: Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter

Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter logo with a drawing of hands holding a heartCongratulations to the Winchester Area Temporary Thermal Shelter (WATTS) for their $1,000 Green Grants award to improve Cigarette Litter Prevention at their facility!

WATTS began serving adult men and women whom other homeless organizations have refused shelter fourteen years ago. This Evening Shelter program is operated from November through March and primarily serves Winchester, Frederick, and Clarke Counties and secondly, surrounding Northern Virginia counties.

Beginning in 2020, WATTS added a new initiative, the Daytime Shelter program, consisting of Warming and Cooling Centers. They operate from December through March, July and August. Located at a church in the Winchester area, guests can get a reprieve from the harsh Virginia winter and summer temps and access the WATTS counseling staff that provides necessary resources and support to achieve self-sufficiency.

WATTS submitted a proposal for the Green Grants category of  Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (CLPP). The smoking area at the Daytime Shelter is used by smokers and by the counseling staff, to meet with guests.

Area near brick church building that will hold benches and cigarette butt receptaclesThe WATTS Daytime Shelters are a daytime, cold, and hot weather facility that operates when precipitation, wind, temperature, and wind chill or heat become dangerously extreme. Its primary goal is preventing death and injury from exposure to these weather conditions, reducing the population of homeless individuals who are left outside during extreme temperatures.  The program hopes that fewer urgent care or emergency room visits are required.  Its secondary goal is to connect individuals with transitional support to break the cycle of homelessness.  The estimated attendance for this year is 350 guests

The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program will give homeless individuals a place to go and sit, to enjoy being both indoors and outdoors– with no judgment. Often, they are discouraged from sitting in public parks and public buildings based solely on what they look like. Specifically, the outdoor smoking area at the WATTS Daytime Shelter will allow them space and time to reap the benefits of spending time in nature.

Grant funds will be used to purchase two Smoker’s Outpost receptacles to collect cigarette butts safely, and two six-foot outdoor park benches from Global Industrial to provide seating for smokers.

The project makes a big difference to the local homeless community for the 350 adult men and women attending the WATTS Daytime Shelters this year, as well as reducing the amount of cigarette butts left on the ground.  WATTS will start recycling cigarette butts with TerraCycle waste management company.

Thank you WATTS, for the work you’re doing in the community, and for caring about cigarette butt litter.  You can learn more about the free and easy recycling programs offered by TerraCycle here.