- The Kearney Center, HOPE community, and Catholic City Youth Services provided shelter overnight during wintry conditions for a variety of demographics.
- These service providers say outreach will begin, as soon as roads are safe, to help neighbors who chose not to shelter.
- Watch the video to hear from these leaders and the agencies they'll be working with to carry out this effort.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Kearney Center’s mission to help vulnerable adults during times of cold weather continues even after sleet and snow have fallen.
"We will get back out there for those that we know that did not come in to check in on them and we do have a few instances where we do have people that are refusing to come in so we’ll get out with them first to ensure their safety and check on them," said Sonya Wilson, Executive Director with The Kearney Center.
Wilson said that will include working with their outreach team as soon as roads are deemed safe to do so.
"A few agencies, I think there’s 10," said Wilson, "that have outreach specialists and they’ll coordinate and we’ll start contacting anybody we know who did not come in to ensure they are safe."
The Kearney Center will continue to remain open as a shelter from cold weather through Friday. Wilson said she expects that to be extended but nothing has been confirmed as of Wednesday morning.
HOPE community opened as a shelter for families during this cold weather event.
"While My 17 year old may be excited about seeing snow, there are families that are out in the cold that are nervous about seeing snow because they don’t have the shelter they need," said CEO of HOPE community, Nick Maddox.
HOPE recently underwent over $2 million dollars worth of renovations that Maddox said are critical for moments like these.
"Not necessarily new features but just having seal windows, and renovated rooms, and more open space, and nicer space for our folks to be able to enjoy," said Maddox.
That includes office desks that turn into beds for essential workers.
When roads become safe again, Maddox said they’ll work with their outreach teams to identify families that need help if they chose to stay out in the cold or if they couldn't seek shelter.
STATEMENT FROM CCYS:
CCYS has been sheltering youth ages 10 to 17 years old. They said Wednesday morning outreach is paused until roads become safe again to navigate.
