Essex County, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones announced Essex County’s Code Blue procedures are being enacted from Thursday, January 15th at 8 p.m. to Thursday, January 22nd at 9 a.m. during the nighttime hours of 8 p.m. to 9 a.m., except Monday, January 19th to Wednesday, January 21st which will be all day. Code Blue protocols are enacted when the temperature is forecasted to drop below 32 degrees or due to inclement weather. For participating shelters and warming stations, view the attached flyer, visit www.nj211.org, or dial 2-1-1.

“Providing our homeless residents with a warm place to stay during extreme weather conditions is important for their safety and well-being. We thank our participating shelters and warming stations who are working with us to open their doors in these times of need,” DiVincenzo said.

“The cold temperatures and inclement winter weather puts the health and safety of our homeless residents are risk. We appreciate our partner agencies opening their doors to provide a warm and safe place for those in need,” Jones said.

When a Code Blue is declared, a network of warming stations operated by the County and its municipalities and shelters operated by the community based organizations will be opened. The warming stations identified include a variety of public libraries, senior centers, civic and community centers, school buildings, houses of worship, firehouses and first aid squad buildings. Warming stations are generally opened during the day and may not provide overnight accommodations. Shelters do provide overnight accommodations. In addition, shelters that regularly require occupants to leave during the day will suspend that practice so people can stay indoors.