Several non-profit groups and churches across north Texas opened their doors Thursday night to provide shelter to people as the temperature dropped into the 20's. Those organizations will monitor the forecast Friday to determine if they need to open those warming centers again tonight.
"We play this day to day," said Pastor Wayne Walker at Our Calling in Dallas. When the temperature does get dangerously cold, his organization is one of several that operates temporary overnight shelters. Our Calling also reaches out to the homeless to encourage them to take advantage of those shelters and other services.
"If the weather is warm one day and cold the next, most folks camping outside think it's not that bad. But when we have these cumulative days...day after day...they finally decide 'I need to get in'," he said.
He's also urging people to contribute to the effort to provide people shelter during the cold.
"That doesn't mean get out on these roads in this weather. That means go to our web site www.ourcalling.org and you can make a donation where your funds are being used to pay for meals and pay for those search and rescue teams to bring people in off the streets," he said.
The Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas and the Christ Church in Irving also opened as warming centers overnight, along with the Salvation Army offices in Garland, Plano and McKinney. The Weather Activated Refuge for Mesquite also opened its offices on Highway 80.
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