Despite temperatures already dropping below freezing, the Hermiston Warming Station won’t be opening any time soon if more volunteers don’t sign up.

Teesie Hill, chairwoman of the nonprofit’s board, said she needs about 200 volunteers before they can start taking guests in need of emergency shelter.

So far she has about 30 ready to go.

“Last year we trained 200 people. We had about 165 actually volunteer for a shift, 145 return for another, but only about 90 volunteers who volunteered consistently,” she said.

The station has three volunteer trainings left: Thursday at 9 a.m., Tuesday at at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.

All trainings are at the warming station, a house at 1075 South Highway 395 across from Tower Apartments. Interested volunteers don’t need to sign up in advance.

Returning volunteers won’t need to go through trainings or background checks again, Hill said — they just need to drop by and sign some updated paperwork to be approved for another year.

Volunteers can sign up online for whatever shifts or days they would like. Check-in shifts are from 7-9:30 p.m. Operations manager and kitchen manager shifts are from 7 p.m. to midnight. Overnight volunteers can work from midnight to 4 a.m., or manage the kitchen or check-outs from 4-6:30 a.m.

Volunteers working with guests must be over 18, but volunteers younger than 18 can come during the day to assist with tasks such as cleaning or sorting donations.

The Warming Station’s season has been set to go from Nov. 25 through February, but Hill said they will start later than the 25th if they don’t have more volunteers.

For people interested in donating items, she said their biggest need is cases of bottled water and packages of hot chocolate mix.

For more information, call 541-289-2150 or visit the Hermiston Warming Station Facebook page.