County Faces Criticism For Not Opening Warming Shelter

CHARLOTTE, NC -- As temperatures dipped down to the low teens in the Queen City this week, Mecklenburg County emergency officials reached out to community partners to house the homeless in need of shelter. The county has not, however, opened its own warming center, which has brought criticism that the move has left some of the city’s most vulnerable population out in the cold.

According to the National Weather Service, the below-freezing temperatures will continue through the end of the week. Thursday night, the low is expected to get down to 15 degrees, with wind gusts up to 18 miles per hour, according to the forecast.

At least 12 people have died in the U.S. due to the cold, CNN reported. The death toll has reached the Tar Heel state, too. Thursday morning, N.C. Governor Roy Cooper announced that three North Carolinians had died during the storm.

Mecklenburg County emergency officials announced a list of area non-profit shelters accommodating those in need during the extreme cold, but acknowledged it had no plans to open it's own warming station.

“Because current operations and capacity are sufficient to meet the demand and needs of the homeless community, there is no plan or need to open a warming station/emergency overnight shelter at this time,” Mecklenburg County officials said in a statement Jan. 3.

"We have sufficient capacity at all of our shelters including the inn," County Manager Dena Diorio told Fox 46, which reported that she told a County Commissioners meeting Jan. 3 that the weather conditions had not yet met the mandate that there be a wind chill of 10 degrees or below for 24 hours.

"We are not a shelter. We do not provide shelter," Diorio said.

The decision to keep the doors closed at the county’s designated warming shelter at the Grady Cole Center did not sit well with Pat Cotham, who is a member of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners.

“This policy seems very harsh - ‘sustained wind chill factor of 10 degrees for one full day?’,” she said in an email to Diorio, which she posted a screenshot of on social media. “Can we adjust it to keep the most vulnerable people safe from the frigid temperatures? Sure we are better than this… Surely.”

Wednesday night, Cotham distributed hand and foot warmers to the homeless throughout Uptown Charlotte. “I am uptown giving out hand/body/toe warmers to homeless people,” she tweeted. First ones were a couple who wouldn’t go to separate shelters.”

Mecklenburg County’s emergency officials are expected to reconvene Jan. 4 in a morning conference call to assess the weather forecast, according to a statement.

Here is the list of the community shelters in Charlotte accommodating those in need during the extreme cold:

• The Salvation Army, Men’s Shelter of Charlotte and Urban Ministry Center are open during the day to provide a warm place for guests.
• The Salvation Army, Men’s Shelter of Charlotte and Room in the Inn have increased their capacity for the anticipated arrival of guests this evening.
• The American Red Cross is providing additional blankets and cots for the shelters to use.
• The Urban Ministry Center Outreach Team monitors and visits about 50 homeless persons in camps and outdoor situations. Most of them agree to come in to the shelters. Sleeping bags and warmers were provided for those who refused to come.

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