Cold Weather Outreach
Over the years, we have learned that the number of people who are living on the streets (unsheltered) in Racine on any given night is closely related to the temperature. When it is warm, there are more people who sleep outside. Although public awareness and concern for people who are unsheltered is heightened during periods of extreme cold, there are actually very few people still on the streets in Racine. But… there are still some, even when the temperatures dip below zero degrees. Because of this, HOPES Center’s street outreach teams don’t take the night off due to cold weather or winter storms. In fact, when the temperatures are in single digits or below, HOPES has an team out every night until the temperature breaks. The people are fewer, but conditions are more urgent.
Typically, we view relationship building as the key component of street outreach; developing trust and eventually helping people get connected to housing and services that will end their homelessness. During extreme cold, the focus is on safety; either getting people to a safer and warmer location or helping them stay as warms as possible where they are if they decline other options. Contacts are generally short and to the point as we look for any symptoms of hypothermia, check if the person wants to go to shelter, and provide supplies to help stay warm if they don’t. We pull out our zero degree sleeping bags and go through a lot of hand warmers and thermal socks. What may be surprising is that we also go through a lot of water, as people often report dehydration as a problem.
A typical extreme weather outreach shift usually includes the following:
Welfare checks on people we know to be outside and with whom we have had recent contact. Do they show symptoms of hypothermia? Do they want to go to shelter? What can we give them to help them stay warm?
Searches for people who report being outside. People call and say that they are staying outside. By night time they almost always find an indoor place stay (friends or family) rather sleep outside, but we check any locations reported.
Searches of places where people might go to stay warm. There are places in Racine that have at least some kind of heat source and are accessible to people who are outside. We check those, as well as places where people might try to get out of the wind.
General searches by driving around and keeping our eyes open, talking to people we see walking outside, and doubling back to check spots we had checked earlier. (Just because someone was not there at 10 p.m. doesn’t mean that no one will be there at 2:00 a.m.).
Cold weather outreach usually has more driving and walking and less contact with people who are unsheltered, but the contact that we do have is often more critical. So far, we have yet to find anyone who likes being out in the cold, but people are there. Cold weather outreach also isn’t a favorite of the team, but it is all part of the ministry to people experiencing homelessness in Racine who are unsheltered.