- Frigid temperatures pose life-threatening risks to the homeless community.
- Sheriff Aaron Hanson and deputies are actively offering rides to shelters.
- The Siena Francis house is also working to keep homeless neighbors out of the cold
Frigid temperatures continue to grip our neighborhoods and the dangers can be life. This week Sheriff Aaron Hanson and his deputies visited encampments throughout the city, offering rides to homeless individuals so they could safely get to shelter and out of the cold.
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“This is, record low temperatures that we're dealing with this time of year, and we've already seen fatalities and we've seen terrible injuries and, and we don't wanna have any more,” said Hanson.
Hanson said one of the individuals they helped transfer was a young man who had been living in a broken-down car, in the Walmart parking lot at 128th and L.
“He said he hadn't eaten for a week. He spent the night last night in this car. But he's fortunate, he wasn't struggling with mental health or addiction he simply lost his job, his car broke down and he lost his ability to, financially take care of himself,” said Hanson.
Deputies drove him to Open Door Mission, where they said he’ll be provided resources to find a new job and get back on his feet.
Another organization providing help in the Siena Francis House, Chief Advancement Officer Chris Bauer said each day this week the shelters 360 bed building has been close to capacity.
“No one should be staying out in the cold. There is somewhere available for them. They just need to find the resources and the people that will connect them to them. And can they just show up to the shelter and show up to the front door,” said Bauer.
The Siena Francis House also provides tong term housing, for the chronically homeless, through their Tiny Cottages and the Siena Apartments.
“Our idea is housing first. We want to get people in houses and then we believe that it's easier to bring all the services along once we get them housed,” said Bauer.
Between the two programs they provide 98 units. Bauer said the apartments offer more hands-on care, versus the cottages which allow residents to have their own home.
“The apartments are going to be a little higher level of care being that they're actually on our campus. So those folks are going to be able to go. Get their medications at our Miracles rehabilitation clinic if they are on a regimen of medicines. They're able to go across the street to the shelter to get 3 meals a day if they need 3 meals a day,” said Bauer.
Bauer said they have availability in their shelter for individuals looking to get warm and allow one pet per person for those who have a furry companion.
