SOUTHWEST TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — As freezing temperatures hit Tallahassee, the Kearney Center is expanding services and urging people to come inside before the cold turns deadly.
- The Kearney Center is offering day services to keep people from being sent back into freezing temperatures.
- Four people experiencing homelessness have died this cold season, including two this week.
- Watch the video below to see how the shelter is helping neighbors in need.
Kearney Center extends services as dangerous cold hits Big Bend
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
So far this season, the Kearney Center says four people have died due to cold weather conditions.
I'm Lyric Sloan in Southwest Tallahassee with how the Kearney Center is trying to prevent any more deaths due to the cold in our community.
As dangerously cold temperatures move in, the Kearney Center is preparing for an increase in people seeking refuge.
CEO Sonya Wilson says the risk this week is especially serious.
"I don't want people to get dormant and think that just because they've stayed in the cold, and they've weathered it the last week, that they're going to be able to weather the next couple of nights," Wilson said.
Wilson says the wintry conditions in the Big Bend have been deadly since the start of the cold season, four people experiencing homelessness have died, and two of those deaths happened this week.
In response, the center is expanding services to protect people from the weather.
"We are going to do day services. So what we'll allow the clients to do, because they're overnight, usually, they have to check out and then check back in an hour later, what we'll do is those that are already in and want to stay in, we will do a check in internally so we don't send people out in the frigid temperatures," Wilson said.
Wilson says the Kearney Center is fully staffed and prepared for an influx of people as temperature drops into the teens and low 20s.
The center is also stocked with hygiene items, blankets, and other essential supplies, thanks in part to community donations from Mount Zion.
The Kearney Center is used to serving as a shelter during conditions like this, but Wilson says this season has been different.
"More people experiencing homelessness for the very first time, so they're scared," Wilson said.
The shelter says it will not turn anyone away during the cold weather.
Emergency intake hours run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and officials encourage people to arrive early, if possible.
"The biggest thing is just to come on down. And if they don't have transportation, you know, call 211, let's get everybody here," Wilson said.
Hot beds, warm showers, three meals, and a snack, that's what Wilson says they are prepared to serve the community and will not turn anyone away during this cold weather.
In Southwest Tallahassee, Lyric Sloan ABC 27.
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