NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After hearing from concerned viewers, Meteorologist Heather Mathis spent years researching and filing a series of reports on the lack of shelters open publicly across Middle Tennessee.
One of the issues she found was that churches and other organizations didn’t feel they could open because of liability concerns.
State Rep. Jason Powell took notice of these reports and worked with Heather to pass the "Safer Places Bill” (HB1080), signed into law in April 2023.
This law clarifies that any organization that opens its doors to the public is not liable for loss, damages, injury, or death that results from providing shelter from severe weather.
Now, NewsChannel 5 is launching a "Safe Places" program and will provide an easily accessible list of open shelters so viewers living in vulnerable housing will have a safe place to go in the event of severe weather. These “safe places” will be listed county by county on newschannel5.com and updated in real-time.
Churches and other organizations interested in becoming a Safe Places partner will contact NewsChannel 5 at safeplaces@newschannel5.com.
From there, a local emergency management agency official will coordinate a time to review your space to ensure it meets criteria to be designated a safe shelter.
On days when severe weather is anticipated, EMA offices will sign into an account within the NewsChannel 5 website and list partner shelters as “OPEN.”
All open shelter information like address and hours of operation will appear on air, on our website and app during severe events.
