'Life-threatening' cold has shelters and outreach workers scrambling to get homeless inside

Men and women were huddling in the small chapel of the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center homeless shelter in downtown Minneapolis to stay warm. Nearby at the Higher Ground shelter, more than a dozen sleeping pads on the floor would expand capacity for the night.

In south Minneapolis, outreach workers with the American Indian Community Development Corp. (AICDC) were handing out cold-weather survival kits to people encamped in tents. And in St. Paul, staff with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office were driving from one bus shelter to the next, distributing warm clothes.

Emergency measures were being rolled out across the state as county agencies and nonprofits scrambled to find ways to protect people who are sleeping in the cold. Starting Wednesday, shelters have been pushed beyond their normal capacity by people seeking refuge from the subzero temperatures. To avoid turning anyone away, shelters were squeezing in cots and mats in hallways and other spaces; and they were extending their hours so that people could stay through the day.

https://www.startribune.com/life-threatening-cold-has-shelters-and-outreach-workers-scrambling-to-get-homeless-inside/600238150/