LEBANON — The planned opening of the emergency winter shelter this month has been delayed due to staffing shortages, leaving homeless community members with few warm places to stay at night.

Upper Valley Haven, the nonprofit that operates the shelter located at 160 Mechanic Street, needs eight people to staff the shelter. As of Wednesday, the Haven was in the process of doing reference checks on six candidates for the job and will not be able to meet the anticipated Dec. 16 opening date, Michael Redmond, executive director of the Haven said.

It is unknown exactly when the shelter will open, Redmond said: “We assess at the end of each week to see where we’re at.”

Meanwhile, the Warm Welcome Shelter in Claremont, which can host 12 to 15 people a night, is scheduled to open its doors on Jan. 1. The shelter will operate some weeks at Trinity Episcopal Church at 120 Broad St., and some weeks at First Congregational Church at 72 Pleasant St.

“There is nothing that the organizers of this group like about waiting until January to open,” Zadiah Eisenberg, Trinity’s pastoral community connections coordinator, said in a phone interview.

Both the Lebanon and Claremont seasonal shelters opened for the first time last winter. They aim to assist people who are unable to find spots at the Upper Valley’s year-round homeless shelters in Claremont and White River Junction, which are regularly full. As temperatures drop, it becomes increasingly difficult to secure a spot.

The Lebanon overnight shelter, which can host up to 13 people a night, is operated by Upper Valley Haven — a nonprofit that runs two year-round shelters and supplies community members facing homelessness with food and connections to social services. The shelter provided a hot meal, a warm place to sleep and resources to more than 50 different people in total last season from late January to mid-April, Redmond said.

The Claremont Warm Welcome Shelter opened after James Russon, a homeless resident in Claremont, died in November at age 69 shortly after contracting hypothermia.

Last winter, volunteers ran the shelter, but this year, with the help of Southwestern Community Services — a nonprofit with offices in Keene and Claremont that provides resources for low-income individuals and families — the shelter plans to have four to six paid employees, in addition to a team of volunteers.

Although it is up in the air whether Trinity or First Congregational will host first, there is enough money to keep the shelter open daily from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. through almost the end of January. The aim is to keep shelter open through March, however, the shelter still needs $32,000 and is seeking community donations to meet that goal, Eisenberg said.

“We understand the urgency and it’s concerning that the money might not be there,” Eisenberg said.

Upper Valley Haven staff also understand the importance of opening the Lebanon shelter as soon as possible. Until they can fill the remaining two positions, staff are considering opening a few days a week instead of every day from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m., Redmond said.

“We’re in the process of interviewing almost daily,” shelter supervisor Gwen Williams said. “We’re looking for somebody with compassion, who’s passionate about the work of the shelter and is understanding of what folks are going through.”

Of the six employees already hired, none of them have previous experience working in shelters.

Once hired, employees receive extensive training, including working a few shifts at Upper Valley Haven’s Hixon House adult shelter, Williams said.

“We want to be certain we have the right people,” Redmond said. “It takes special folks to do the work. I won’t say we’re picky, but we are.”

The job pays $22 per hour for the 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. shift and $23.50 per hour for the 12 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. shift with an opportunity for a bonus of up to $1,000 for working through the entire season.

As well as peacekeeping and being able to respond to emergencies, workers at the shelter sit down with the guests to find out which resources they need and offer “support and companionship,” Williams said.

Until the shelters open and as overnight temperatures continue to drop into the teens, Lebanon community members can contact the Lebanon Human Services Department at 603-448-2944 for assistance finding shelter. New Hampshire residents outside of Lebanon should contact the human services department in their municipality, said Lynne Goodwin, the director of the Lebanon department.

Vermont residents can call 211 to request emergency housing.

This week the department, which is required by state law to provide shelter for those seeking it, put three households up in motels, Goodwin said.

The nonprofit Tri-County Community Action Program, which serves Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties, has provided the city with up to $15,000 in reimbursements for the cost of the rooms. This is part of the $82,500 the agency received from the New Hampshire Bureau of Homeless Services to distribute to municipalities in Grafton County to house homeless community members in cold weather.

The next training session for interested volunteers at the Claremont Warm Welcome Shelter is Dec. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church. For more information, contact claremontwarmwelcome@gmail.com and to donate to the shelter go to: tinyurl.com/mrx3e5wp.

The application for the Lebanon emergency winter shelter is online at: tinyurl.com/mryjazjc.

 Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@ vnews.com or 603-727-3242.