If you need shelter from rain, where can you go? Here are Sacramento warming centers

As the rainy season returns, Sacramento County and the city of Sacramento have opened weather respite centers across the region.

Sacramento County activated a 24-hour shelter at it’s North A Street shelter at 1400 North A St., which will close Wednesday afternoon, according to Janna Haynes, a spokesperson for the county. For the rest of Tuesday, the county opened the Outreach and Engagement Center at 3615 Auburn Blvd. until Wednesday morning.

The North A Shelter has a capacity of 25; the Outreach and Engagement Center can host 50 people. North A offers meals, restrooms and allows pets, according to 211 Sacramento. Haynes added that residents can receive free Sacramento Regional Transit rides to travel to a warming center. To board a SacRT bus for free, residents must present a screenshot of an “Inclement Weather Notice” flyer, available at 211 Sacramento.

Where can you find community centers?

Here are other daytime respite or community centers, with bus suggestions from 211 Sacramento:

• Joe Mims, Jr. Hagginwood Community Center at 3271 Marysville Blvd; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Take the 86 SacRT bus.
• South Natomas Community Center at 2921 Truxel Road.; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Take the 11 SacRT bus.
• Wind Drop-In Center at 815 S St. Hours vary throughout the week, but this center is open daily. Take SacRT buses 51 and 102.
• Adult Drop-In Respite at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center at 1015 20th St.; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Take SacRT buses 30 and 38.
• Midtown HART Respite Center at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 2620 Capitol Ave.; Service hours are at 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays. Take SacRT buses 30 and 38.
• Oak Park Community Center at 3425 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Take SacRT buses 68 and 206.
• Coloma Community Center at 4623 T St.; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Fridays; 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Take the 212 SacRT bus.
• Belle Cooledge Community Center at 5699 South Land Park Drive; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Take SacRT buses 61 or 106.

Other plans

To find open overnight warming centers, Haynes recommended checking 211 Sacramento. A map of the most up-to-date center openings can be found there.

Haynes added that Sacramento County is working on opening a larger weather respite center on Roseville Road known as the “Watt Facility.” She said the center will have 225 beds and case management services on site, making it the largest multi-operational homeless center to date. Currently, the county’s largest primary location is at Warren E. Thorton Center in Rosemont.

Julie Hall, a spokesperson for the city of Sacramento, said the opening of centers is based on criteria based on the National Weather Service stated conditions. This includes a 50% or higher probability of a night being 37 degrees or lower for two or more days in five-day span, rain for two or more consecutive days in the fall and winter and one day or night 32 degrees or lower.

“The Sacramento City Council established specific weather guidelines for when these centers open, providing temporary relief during periods of severe weather,” Hall said in an email. “The City also coordinates closely with Sacramento County, which activates additional centers as needed.”

In the winter, the severity of rain and wind are typically the main factors in a center’s activation, Haynes said.

“There could also be danger of falling trees as we get farther into the winter and grounds are a little bit more saturated,” Haynes said. “Not typically with the first wind or rain, but that is something that we have to take into consideration.”

This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM.

Emma Hall

The Sacramento Bee

916-321-1047

Emma Hall covers retail and business for The Sacramento Bee. Hall graduated from Sacramento State and Diablo Valley College. She is Blackfeet and Cherokee.