(NewsNation) — Some Americans are skipping their commutes and hunkering down inside as winter storms persist, but the harsh weather presents major risks for those experiencing homelessness.
Heavy snow and strong winds created blizzard conditions in parts of the Northwest on Wednesday, while the coldest air of the season is expected to filter through the Central U.S. over the weekend.
Unsheltered people are especially vulnerable during harsh weather, but knowing how to help yourself or a neighbor can be a challenge if you don’t know where to start.
“It can be really overwhelming to see people living outside on the street, in a car, in a tent, in a doorway — it pulls on our human instinct that homelessness is not OK,” said Marion McFadden, principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). “So we need to work on some big systemic solutions but it starts with: What can an individual do in the moment?”
Familiarize yourself with local services
Knowing where local shelters or other housing, food, and health care services operate is the first step, McFadden said.
In many communities, United Way’s 211 line or 211.org can connect people to resources and allow community members to notify service providers of someone in need.
The Hud Exchange website can also identify local, housing, food and health and safety services.
However, not everyone is comfortable or eligible to stay in a shelter and bad experience at one location may turn someone off the idea altogether, McFadden said.
“We see people who don’t feel comfortable in shelters for any kind of reason,” she said. “We encourage our continuum of care to work with them on choices about where they’re going to feel comfortable, what’s possible for them.”
Communities hit with dangerously cold temperatures may also have designated warming areas where members of the public can escape the elements. In areas where space is limited or resources are scarce, public spaces like libraries and train stations may offer temporary relief.
What do people need?
Whether you choose to make care packages to distribute or donate supplies to local nonprofits, people’s needs vary by community and circumstance.
Getting to know the people in your community will help you identify short-term and long-term needs.
“It starts with showing some basic respect, acknowledging someone, saying hello, seeing how someone’s doing,” McFadden said.
Many shelters post lists of urgent donation needs on their website, where they might call for supplies such as toiletries, winter clothes, food, cleaning supplies, hand-warmers and gift cards.
If you’re still unsure, donating money to organizations already doing the work can go a long way, said Rob Mutert, founder and executive director of Warp Corps, a nonprofit in McHenry County, Illinois.
The group targets suicide, overdose deaths, substance abuse and homelessness prevention through community engagement. Its outreach program connects people experiencing homelessness to community services and shelters, and issues camping gear, cellphones, cold weather necessities and Narcan kits, among other supplies, depending on local needs.
“Having a little reserve of cash within the organization can allow us to be very target-specific on the needs in that moment,” Mutert said.
Get involved
When a bus transporting migrants arrived in Woodstock, Illinois, late last month, Mutert’s call for help on Facebook mobilized “a mosaic” of public and city officials as well as individual volunteers, he said.
The donations of backpacks and winter clothing that poured in were enough to send the bus passengers to their next stop with at least some necessities on hand.
“Within 24 hours of the bus showing up, we were on a Zoom meeting with about 30 people, (including) the head of the Migrant Council in Chicago, to set up a strategic quick response team,” Muterert said. “So whenever a community, even outside of McHenry County needs help, we can load the van and get the kits to whatever community might need them, even if it’s just in a preparatory mindset.”
On a larger scale, McFadden encourages people to ask questions about the funding available to their communities.
HUD awards discretionary funding through more than 20 grant programs that support initiatives, including affordable housing development and preservation, fair housing, homelessness, and rental assistance.
“We know how to end homelessness but it’s a question of resources,” McFadden said. “The president’s budget calls for some major investments and something folks might want to ask at the state and local level is how are communities using the funds that HUD is providing? What are the choices that they’re making?”