From: Mittark Nashouonk, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
During last week’s blizzard, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe opened the Community and Government Center as a warming shelter, providing a safe, warm place for people to rest, eat, and recharge while much of Cape Cod faced dangerous conditions and widespread outages. Tribal members and neighbors from surrounding towns used the shelter for warmth, meals, water, and device charging, and line crews also stopped in throughout long shifts for much-needed breaks.
Volunteers at World Kitchen prepare food to be delivered to Tribe’s Community and Government Center during blizzard.
At the height of the storm response, Barnstable County’s public shelter resource list noted that warming stations in only two locations, Provincetown and Mashpee, had been upgraded to 24-hour shelters. This underscored how critical it was to keep our doors open when options were limited.
The Tribe is especially grateful to the Emergency Management Department for activating emergency planning early and working closely with Tribal Council and essential services to make key decisions before conditions worsened. We also extend sincere thanks to Tribal Security, Tribal Police, Tribal businesses that supported plowing operations, and the dozens of Tribal members who stepped up throughout the week, checking on Elders, helping families, shoveling, delivering supplies, and supporting the shelter operations.
We are also deeply thankful to local partners who donated food and supplies, including prepared meals and essentials that helped sustain families during the storm.
The warming shelter was closed on Friday, February 27 at 4 PM. The additional donations of prepared food and water were handed out to the tribal community prior to closing.
