Shelters Rush To Get Suburban Homeless Inside During Cold Snap

BEDS Plus is hurrying to get the suburban homeless inside during what is projected to be record-breaking cold temperatures starting Jan. 29 through Jan. 31. The National Weather Service has issued a windchill warning in effect from 6 p.m. Jan. 29 to noon Jan. 30. Temperatures are expected to plummet to -13, with wind chills as low as -55. The dangerous cold can cause frostbite and hypothermia within four minutes.

Day-support centers at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 11005 South 76th Ave., Worth, and Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing, 9601 E. Ogden Ave., LaGrange, will remain open until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. BEDS Plus is providing rides to both day-support centers for the duration of the extreme weather event.

LaGrange-based BEDS Plus operates emergency overnight shelters for homeless individuals and families in Worth, Orland, Stickney, Proviso, Riverside and Lyons townships.

“We’ve conducted wellness checks on our housed clients to make sure they have heat,” said Tina Rounds, executive director of BEDS Plus. “We’ve also been in contact with police departments letting them know they can drop off people anytime who may not have shelter.”

As of Tuesday, BEDS Plus overnight shelters at Wesleyan Community Church, 8844 Austin Ave., Oak Lawn, and St. Barbara Parish, 8900 Windemere Ave., Brookfield, will be opening at 6 p.m. Case managers will be on hand to provide supportive services to families and individuals seeking refuge from the life-threatening cold weather. Those seeking shelter will receive a hot meal and a free lunch to take with them on Wednesday, as well as hand warmers and cold weather gear. People without heat at home can also visit BEDS Plus day-support centers and overnight emergency shelters.

The regularly scheduled overnight emergency shelters for Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Our Lady of the Ridge Parish, 10810 South Oxford, Chicago Ridge, and St. Hugh Parish, 7939 43rd Street, Lyons, are also expected to open early.

“We’ll send a case manager out to pick people up,” Rounds said. “We welcome registered and non-registered clients. We won’t be turning anyone away.”

Residents who encounter someone outside struggling with cold exposure, or knows of a homeless encampment, is asked to call 911, and BEDS Plus 24/7 emergency number at 708-354-0858.

“We are especially concerned about people way off the grid,” Rounds said. “They may not be aware of how life-threatening and dangerous this cold weather can potentially be.”

~ Image via Shutterstock