'Nobody dies': OKC groups urge people in homelessness to come to shelters during arctic cold
Whether the skies are sunny, snowy or icy, Dan Straughan’s goal is clear when temperatures plummet.
“It’s super basic: Nobody dies,” said the Homeless Alliance executive director. “No person experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City has died from hypothermia in the last decade, and that's because the emergency system has been able to respond. And that's the goal for this winter, too.”
In Oklahoma City, temperatures dropped into the teens with wind chills near or below zero Jan. 13 behind an arctic cold front that sent wind chill values plunging to between -5 and -20 degrees F. Temperatures remained below freezing in OKC for more than four days.
High temperatures are predicted to stay below freezing for most of this weekend, with freezing rain possible Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service, causing more need for shelters.
"It's scary. My health's not real good and being 63 and from Florida originally, I don't like cold. I can't handle it. It's been very, very rough and painful and I just, you know, try to hang on one day, one hour at a time. It comes down to sometimes less than that, but it's definitely scary," said David Overholser, who's been utilizing the Homeless Alliance's day and night shelters to try and avoid the elements.
"There's people just wrapping up in blankets seeking any kind of shelter, trying to get downwind on the leeward side of a building or in a car, but it's very dangerous because when you sleep, your respiratory goes down and that's when hypothermia sets in. God forbid, but unfortunately it happens."
For Oklahoma City organizations working with people experiencing homelessness, frigid conditions mean again activating the cold weather emergency measures that they ramp up during winter weather.
“There is no reason for anyone in Oklahoma City to be on the streets this weekend,” said Wendy Elliott, vice president of development for City Rescue Mission.
“Oklahoma City is really lucky that there are several shelters here that we have the experience to be like, ‘OK, we roll up our sleeves and just jump in there.'"
Where are the winter weather emergency shelters in OKC?
Several OKC emergency shelters offer additional capacity when the temperatures drop below freezing:
The Homeless Alliance Winter Shelter, 1601 NW 4, has up to 300 beds.
City Rescue Mission’s emergency shelter, 800 W California, has accommodations for up to 25 men, 25 women and family spaces as needed until capacity is reached.
The Salvation Army, 1001 N Pennsylvania, is offering 50 additional beds for women and families.
City Care’s shelter, 532 N Villa, is supplying 10 extra beds for adults.
Sisu Youth Services’ overnight shelter, 2129 NW 30, has five extra beds for people ages 15 to 22.
Pivot’s overnight shelter, 201 NE 50, has four additional beds for people ages 16 to 24.
‘Just get here’: Shelters open doors wide during extreme cold
The City Rescue Mission’s shelter hours are typically 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., but during severe cold, people can stay extended hours and remain indoors, with meals provided.
They can also use EMBARK transportation services or City Care’s M.O.E. (Mobile Outreach and Engagement) shuttle to travel to the Homeless Alliance’s day shelter.
“We're not going to be pushing people out into the cold weather like, ‘Oh, we gotta follow the rules and it’s 6 a.m.,’” Elliott said.
The City Rescue Mission shelter housed 85 men, 30 women and seven families over last weekend's arctic cold snap. The nonprofit organization is expecting another big crowd seeking shelter this weekend as more potentially life-threatening conditions are predicted, particularly with the possibility of icy weather.
“We’re not sending people away. … We're not turning a family away, We have our chapel; we have our gym. We know where we can place people, and then, it is truly a collaboration among all the shelters," Elliott said.
"We're seeing both ends of the spectrum of vulnerability: We're seeing our children, and we're seeing our elderly."
Although the local shelters serve different populations and vary in capacity, Elliott said the focus during extreme cold weather is just getting people indoors.
“Just get here. … If you can get here, if you can get to City Care, if you can get to these places, guess what, we'll take it from there. We’ll take the weight off of you, we'll do the legwork, and we'll figure out where you need to go and who can take care of you,” Elliott said.
“We really hope that no one’s in their cars or in tents thinking that they can ride this out, because we've seen firsthand what can happen. People can lose limbs … from frostbite; people get burned by fires.”
OKC’s new permanent winter shelter sees big crowds amid arctic temperatures
Last November, the Homeless Alliance opened OKC’s first permanent overnight winter shelter just two blocks from its day shelter. The 300-bed shelter, which takes pets, is open seven nights a week through the end of March.
Last weekend’s arctic cold snap was the first extreme weather event for OKC since the shelter opened, but Straughan said that hasn’t stopped it from consistently operating near capacity.
“For the month of December — and December was mild for an Oklahoma winter — we were averaging 279 a night,” he told The Oklahoman. “So, from my perspective, Oklahoma City has needed a permanent winter shelter for some time.”
With the last cold snap, the overnight winter shelter housed more than 300 people a night, serving a total of nearly 1,500 people through the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.
The Homeless Alliance's day shelter hosted more than 330 people a day during that time frame, including 500-plus people on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15, as below-freezing temperatures caused festivities like OKC's annual MLK Jr. Day parade to be postponed.
"It keeps me alive. I mean, you know, the shelter, the food, the clothing, medicine, everything just keeps me alive. Where I'm not capable of taking care of myself, the Homeless Alliance pretty much takes care of me and I'm very grateful," Overholser said.
Last January, there were more than 1,400 people experiencing homelessness in OKC on the night of the annual Point in Time count.
“So, it's really obvious that we still need that overflow collaboration with other shelters. … The 300-bed shelter is just the lowest possible barrier to entry. So, we don't care if you're in active mental illness, we don't care if you're high when you come in, we want you safe, warm and dry inside,” Straughan said.
“But what that means is it is not an appropriate place for families with children … and that’s 20% of our homeless population. … So, if a family with kids shows up at our winter shelter, then we arrange transportation to get them to either City Rescue or Salvation Army.”
Fear and misconceptions keep some people from coming in out of the cold
Community street outreach teams typically spend the days leading up to cold snaps visiting people experiencing homelessness to alert them to the forecasted temperature drops and provide them with information on winter shelters.
“The emergency response to homelessness, which is the shelter system, is a band-aid solution for a major-surgery problem,” Straughan said. “The answer to homelessness in Oklahoma City — in any big city — is more affordable and accessible housing for people with lower incomes. But that's not something that can be created overnight, or even in 11 months, which is how long it took us to build the winter shelter.”
Fear and misconceptions often make people who are unhoused reluctant to come to shelters.
“I've heard everything from, ‘Oh, they make people go to church or they're not allowed to go there’ — and, no, that's not correct — to ‘They don’t accept people that are LGBTQ’ — and nope, that’s also not correct. We accept everyone,” Elliott said.
“Parents are always scared of ‘Are our children going to be taken away from us because we came in?’ … No, not for coming into a shelter.”
She said one silver lining to winter weather emergencies is that they often get people who wouldn’t come in otherwise through the doors so that organizations can begin forming relationships with them — and hopefully, help them on a path that leads out of homelessness.
“We'll give them a spot to sleep, we'll get some food in their bellies, but we'll also just love on them — and just let them know people care,” she said.
Overholser said those who are struggling or afraid need to take the first step and come into the shelters to see the services that are available because while asking for help is a hard first step, it opens doors to a lot of possibilities and options.
"They can't cover everybody if they don't come forward and ask for it, so just don't be scared. Ask for help," he said. "They come through. You have to be patient because there's so many people that need help, but they come through."
How to help
At this time of year, Oklahoma City organizations working with people experiencing homelessness typically need donations of cold weather clothing, coats, hats, gloves, underwear, socks and hygiene items, and many are seeking volunteers. To make the biggest difference with their giving, people are encouraged to make monetary donations or check an organization’s online wish list.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC groups working with people in homelessness ramp up for arctic cold
