“We’re starting to understand [that] if the temperatures are at a certain range, this is kind of the number of people we can expect to see — and if it gets colder than a certain range, that we’re going to see more,” said Erika Borrego, president and CEO of Corazón. “If it’s raining and cold we’re going to see even more. … We’re starting to gauge that so we can respond and right-size that operation to meet the need in the community.”
Improving coordination and capacity
The community’s emergency shelter response to cold weather has drastically improved over the last two years, Dawn-Fosdick said. That’s largely due to better coordination among partners.
“We’re efficient,” Borrego said. “Communication is fantastic and all of us are working on the same … platform and with the same parameters.”
However, the emergency effort puts financial and often physical strains on the nonprofits and people doing this work. These expenses are not directly reimbursed by local, state or federal governments, but most of the nonprofits receive public funding.
“That is work that all of us do because we have the moral responsibility to keep our neighbors safe,” Borrego said. “We hope the community steps up to support us in the ways that they can.”
On Saturday, the city will open a 100-bed overnight shelter at Bode Community Shelter on the East Side, bringing the total capacity to 420, said Patrick Steck, assistant director of the city’s human services department.
On average, about 250 emergency beds were needed during the cold snap earlier this month, Steck said. The busiest night, when it rained, saw 320 beds used.
But there are far more than 320 people who are unsheltered in San Antonio and Bexar County.
During a one-night survey in January last year, a total of 3,372 individuals were counted as homeless. Of those, 888 people were unsheltered.
But even in freezing conditions, some people will decline shelter, said Terri Behling, Haven for Hope’s director of communications.
“It’s unfortunate when people choose not to [shelter],” Behling said, “but that’s when the outreach teams are equipped with the hand warmers, coats, blankets and gloves and beanies to try to give people the tools they need.”
There were some people who declined shelter during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, Steck said, adding that the city will monitor capacity and open additional shelters as needed.
During these cold snaps, the city pauses its homeless encampment sweeps, also known as abatements or cleanups, Steck said.
Critical possessions that people need to survive during an emergency — or otherwise — can get thrown away during these efforts.
A small silver lining amid these freezing temperatures is that the staff of service organizations get to engage with people who don’t frequent shelters or accept resources, Dawn-Fosdick said.
“It is a real conundrum … we’re stretched bare bones just to be able to manage [the emergency] much less try to case manage someone,” she said. “But we do talk about this as an opportunity sometimes to identify people and maybe help them to do something different.”
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