Homeless Shelters More Than Doubled Amount Of People Helped During Freezing Temperatures

Warmer temperatures mean warming stations have closed their doors. Looking back on the cold snap, homeless shelters in Tulsa County more than doubled their capacity during the cold snap. 

People gathered outside the Salvation Army Center of Hope to receive a meal, get out of the rain, or have a place to lay their heads, but as temperatures warmed up, the shelter would serve fewer people.

"While it was freezing, we were feeding upwards of about 1,000 people per day. That number will start to decline as more people take advantage of eating out and other places," said Salvation Army Core Administrator Isaiah Stegall. 

He said while temperatures were below freezing, they helped hundreds of people get out of the cold.

"We took quite a bit of people in and made space available where we normally wouldn't have space available," Stegall said. 

Throughout Tulsa County, the normal shelter capacity is 500, but during the cold temps, shelters saw more than 1,000 people.

"Pretty much anybody that we could find, we brought them into the regular shelters, and then we had some expanded spaces," said executive director of Housing Solutions Tulsa Becky Gligo. 

She said while times like these can be difficult, she and her team saw the silver lining as getting to reach more people.

"We never want a crisis, and we never want a risk of life, but if that gets somebody to interact with our system and can ultimately lead to them being permanently housed, that’s one of the good outcomes of it," Gligo said. 

The cold might have gotten someone through the doors, but shelter providers hope they stay connected.

"We're always here and ready to help," Stegall said. 

Many of the Tulsa Homeless shelters hope to keep that connection through case managers who can help people navigate through available resources.