The Daniel Pitino Shelter (501 Walnut Street) will serve as the warming center for White Flag nights November 1-March 31. A White Flag event is intended to serve as a guide to prevent homeless individuals from serious harm or death during the winter season when the forecasted temperature or wind chill is 15 degrees or below anytime during the overnight period.
Daviess County Emergency Management will send notifications and post to social media platforms when White Flag criteria is expected to be met. Residents may call 270-688-9000 any time after 12 p.m. to learn if the warming center will be open that evening.
During a White Flag Event, participating homeless shelters are requested to place a white flag on their facility’s exterior door, which shall publicly convey that extra bed space may be available.
The Daniel Pitino Shelter will serve as the designated White Flag shelter, and as liaison between shelters and any other participating agency this winter. In the event that participating shelters are unable to house a homeless individual during a White Flag event, the Daniel Pitino Shelter will make available necessary resources and accommodations to house those individuals at the Daniel Pitino Shelter.
Additionally, Daniel Pitino Shelter will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals to White Flag participants.
The City of Owensboro will provide free bus transportation Monday-Friday to White Flag participants via the Owensboro Transit System to and from the Daniel Pitino Shelter. Transportation for Saturday and Sunday White Flag events will be coordinated between Daniel Pitino Shelter and Daviess County Emergency Management.
If the participating shelters and Daniel Pitino Shelter are unable to accommodate homeless individuals during a White Flag event, the Homeless Council of Ohio Valley will seek assistance from Daviess County Emergency Management to secure an alternate shelter option.
For consistency, the National Weather Service – Paducah, Kentucky will be used to determine all local weather forecasts for the Daviess County White Flag policy.
