Extreme Cold: Deadly for Homeless People

What Happens When it is So Cold?

We do not have a very good natural disaster program for homeless people, but most of the shelter directors realize the extreme danger of anyone being out in the cold for an extended period of time. While there is not typically an official designation of a cold weather emergency in Cleveland, most of the shelters react well to extreme weather conditions. It seems that the City and County rarely get involved in declaring a weather emergency out of fear that they will have to put more money out to take care of additional staffing during the often unpredictable weather of the region. Today, temperatures are in the single digits in Cleveland and so most of the shelters do not kick anyone out during the day or they implement extended hours. On a normal day, most people have to leave the emergency shelters (to go look for non-existent jobs and unaffordable housing) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

When it is this cold the shelters work together to keep their doors open so that no one has to stay outside. There are hundreds who sleep outside, and the social service outreach teams try as hard as they can to convince people to come inside on these rough weather nights. When a few hours outside can result in death, some of the outreach workers can probate an individual if they worry about the individual dying on the streets. Most of those who stay outside are protected from the elements. They either sleep under 10-12 layers or light a fire or they sleep on the heated sidewalks downtown. Some of the sidewalks can give a second degree burn because they are so warm, so the men have to be careful with this solution. There are others who stay in abandoned or vacant housing in the community. Having stayed in an abandoned house, it takes a large number of candles to provide any kind of heat. Also, starting a fire in an a building is extremely dangerous. Even those people who sleep in abandoned garages and start a fire on the concrete have to figure out a way to ventilate the building so that they do not suffocate.

Life boils down to three things: finding warmth, finding food, and keeping safe when staying outside in Cleveland. Everything else is lost. Family, friends, relationships, resumes, bureaucratic red tape, and sports are all forgotten. In one of the most industrially advanced countries on the planet, it always amazes me that we waste the talents of some of our citizens by keeping housing out of reach for so many. During this festival of lights, please remember homeless people who use light as a part of their survival. They stay in candlelit abandoned properties and hunker down at night in the dark waiting for the light of a new day and the hope of a warm apartment, a job in a heated office, or a warm place to have a bowl of soup.

Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.