There were a lot of empty streets across Michiana Tuesday as most people heeded experts’ advice to stay in their homes and out of the sub-zero wind chills.
But what about those who don’t have homes to stay in?
When it’s this cold, the chronically homeless, people who can’t or won’t go to shelters like the Center for the Homeless or Hope Ministries, usually head to public indoor spaces like libraries. But what happens when those places close at the end of the day?
People can go to the city of South Bend’s Weather Amnesty program, operating this winter at the Center for the Homeless. And anticipating more demand with this cold spell, the city has temporarily opened additional warming centers Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights.
Sunday night the extra warming happened at Broadway Christian Parish, and the city moved it to Howard Park’s Event Center for Monday and Tuesday night.
Carl Hetler, the city’s homelessness coordinator, says the city has been asking people seeking warmth at night to first report to the Center for the Homeless. From there they’re being transported to the extra sites as space needs dictate.
"We also have great work being done by Our Lady of the Road, St. Margaret's House, Portage Township helped provide funds so that people can get into hotel space if for some reason they can't stay at the center," Hetler said. "So we've got great teams working across the city to help identify people, figure out what resources they need, and get them into safe, warm places tonight."
