As temperatures dropped to freezing early on Monday morning, Dallas nonprofits once again worked together to shelter hundreds of people living on the street.
Several groups took on different roles on Sunday in getting the homeless checked into hotel rooms in Dallas. The partnership includes:
- Oak Lawn United Methodist Church
- Salvation Army of North Texas
- Austin Street Shelter
- The Stewpot
- The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center
- OurCalling
- The City of Dallas
- Dallas Hope Charities
The City of Dallas is working with these organizations to help pay for the hotel rooms. The effort is activated when temperatures dip at or below the freezing mark. The groups had placed the homeless in 240 hotel rooms ahead of another cold snap earlier this month.
“In past years, we have opened the doors to our building to provide shelter for our homeless neighbors. However, due to the pandemic, we had to look at a new way to shelter community members this winter. Thanks to community donations, we can provide a hotel room, shower, and hot meals to those who might otherwise die in the streets during inclement weather,” Oak Lawn UMC said in a statement.
The city covers the initial 120 rooms but after that, the nonprofits have been paying out of pocket for additional rooms, hot meals and other needs.
Now, there’s a plea for donations to help cover funding as more cold nights are expected this winter. The groups said they anticipate more people needing shelter as the week continues.
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Dallas’ Office of Homeless Solutions said the city is also ready to offer those hotel beds on freezing nights through the rest of the year and potentially into January if needed.
