The Ypsilanti Freighthouse's warming shelter hours will be extended over the Jan. 24, 2026, weekend, according to a news alert published by the city of Ypsilanti on Friday. The alert stated that the Freighthouse, would be open on Jan. 24 and 25 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Freighthouse is located at 100 Market Place, Ypsilanti, at the intersection of E. Cross Street and N. River Street. Its regular warming center hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The event venue has been utilized during the winter season as a warming center from Monday through Thursday, but an exception was made for the upcoming weekend due to exceptionally cold temperatures and a lack of events being held at the venue, said Sheri Wander, a longtime part of the Daytime Warming Center of Washtenaw County. The DWC is a collaborative staffing collective started in 2013 by the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, also known as Delonis, and Michigan Itinerant Shelter System-Interdependent Out of Necessity (MISSION).
Wander told The Eastern Echo that the extension had been made because one of the DWC's volunteers had approached the Ypsilanti city government to request a temporary addition to the Freighthouse's warming hours.
"This was kind of a frantic way to save lives," she said, noting that the DWC has been sustained over the years by support from staff, volunteers and local businesses like Mama Pizza, Depot Town Cats & Dogs and Maiz Mexican Cantina. She also said that the DWC staff running the Freighthouse warming center over the weekend agreed to do so as unpaid volunteer work.
"It's not just a job to people," Wander said. "The people who work there are doing it because they love this community. Many of them have experiences of homelessness themselves, so they get what it's like to be camping in weather like this and always go above and beyond."
In addition to the locations organized by the DWC, the Washtenaw County Office of Community & Economic Development announced on Thursday that three county buildings would be designated as warming centers during the cold weather advisory period of Jan. 23, 2026.
The Daytime Warming Center can be reached by email at dwcwash@gmail.com. More information about warming shelters in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor can be found on the DWC's website.
