Nearly every year, someone in St. Louis dies from the cold, local providers of homeless services say.
The coronavirus pandemic has made the issue more dire this winter. Social distancing measures have reduced capacity at area homeless shelters, and the economic crisis has put more people at risk for homelessness.
Propelled by the freezing weather this month, a group of St. Louis nonprofits worked together to make additional room for around 250 people in the past two weeks by extending shelter hours and paying for people to stay in motel rooms.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen a coalition come together like this before,鈥� said Teka Childress, a longtime homeless advocate and founder of St. Louis Winter Outreach.
Downtown temporary shelter
St. Patrick Center, Horizon North Housing and Tent Mission STL also helped open a new 24-hour shelter downtown in the St. Patrick Center鈥檚 staff lounge and shuttered cafe on Feb. 7.
The temporary shelter is referred to as a safe haven site because it doesn鈥檛 have any requirements and accepts anyone. Many shelters have curfews, limit entrance to certain genders or restrict people from staying if they have substance abuse or behavioral issues. St. Louis hasn鈥檛 had a safe haven shelter since 2016.
鈥淚t doesn't matter what someone has done or what someone is doing,鈥� the St. Patrick Center's Anthony D鈥橝gostino said. 鈥淭hey're a human being, they have dignity, and they don't deserve to be on the streets when it's negative zero temperatures.鈥�
People without housing are three times as likely to have a chronic illness, D鈥橝gostino said, which can make them more susceptible to developing a serious case of COVID-19, should they contract the virus.
Horizon North Housing, St. Patrick Center, Tent Mission STL and many volunteers got the safe haven shelter running in just three days. It can accommodate 28 people during the day and sleep 20 at night. D鈥橝gostino estimated the safe haven site will be open until next Wednesday, but said the timeline is flexible.
鈥楽afe haven鈥� from dangerous cold
The shelter also acts as a hub to connect people to housing services and gives out meals, bus tickets and lots of coffee.
Kevin Johnson said he appreciates the new shelter being open. If it wasn鈥檛, he said he might be trying to keep warm near the steam vents outside the downtown Hilton hotel. Instead, he was at the shelter Friday morning helping volunteers by opening doors and carrying in supplies. Johnson has been living without stable housing for five years.
He鈥檚 seen firsthand that freezing weather can cause life-or-death situations. Last winter, he saw someone sleeping outside near Union Station die in the cold.
鈥淗e laid down, I came back, and he was blue,鈥� Johnson said.
Forecasts in St. Louis predict snow over the weekend and lows near zero. As of Saturday morning, the temperature in the city had been below freezing for more than 170 consecutive hours, according to the National Weather Service.
Many churches that typically open up to shelter people during the coldest stretches of winter have declined to do so this year because of the pandemic, said Tim Huffman, a St. Louis University professor who helped launch the temporary shelter.
The eventual goal is to open a permanent safe haven shelter that doesn鈥檛 have any barriers for people to stay at, D鈥橝gostino and Huffman said.
The City of St. Louis has converted Cherokee and Tandy Recreation Centers into shelters as well. St. Louis County also opened a warming shelter that can take 20 people at the Salvation Army off Page Avenue near Overland, according to a county spokesperson.
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