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Latrice Hunter came to Austin from the Twin Cities a few years ago. She's used to bone-chilling, below-freezing temperatures. But in Austin, like in Minneapolis, cold is cold.
She sat on a pew at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin on Thursday, gripping her cane and steeling herself to make the trek to a warming center as frigid rain fell.
The night before, she had stayed at one of the city's three overnight shelters for people experiencing homelessness. She says she typically doesn't like to stay in group shelters, but she has difficulty getting around and, again, cold is cold.
"The weather is not going to be very nice," she joked. "So, I'd rather be there, you know, than just out here freezing. I'm happy that they have something like that."
Hunter is one of hundreds of Austinites who've taken advantage of overnight shelter during the season's first cold snap. She and others say the city's process to bring in Austinites from the cold has improved in the last few months due, in part, to changes in the system that give more of a heads up when shelters are opened.
"The weather is not going to be very nice. So, I'd rather be there, you know, than just out here freezing. I'm happy that they have something like that."Latrice Hunter
Greg McCormack with the city's Homeless Strategy Office says the city's moves to lower the temperature threshold to open shelters and announce their activation at least a day in advance were the result of community feedback.
"I think both of these have proved to be beneficial in getting the word out to individuals so that they know it's activated," he said. "They know what to do, where to go, to get inside on these really bitterly cold nights when it's very dangerous to be outside."
McCormack and city staff made the decision to open up shelters last weekend ahead of this week's front, he said, and it's paid off. Sunday, the city sheltered 200 people. By Wednesday, that number had risen to nearly 350 people, according to the city's count.
Thomas Woodward said he appreciates the city's willingness to accept feedback. In years past, he's stayed overnight at a city shelter and left hungry. If folks were lucky, he said, they'd get some cold pizza splayed across a folding table. He reached out to City Council members and the Homeless Strategy Office, asking them to prioritize food at the shelters.
"People aren't getting enough food and they're all crammed into a very small area like that. Tempers start to flare basically because they're hungry," he said. "So, I felt it important that everybody had their needs met while they were there."
The city listened.
Within a day, Woodward said, city staff and shelter operators were "passing out anything and everything they could," he said. "The pizza became hot."
On Thursday morning, he was still on the fence about whether he'd seek overnight shelter. He said he had a bad experience last year with staff he didn't think were trained to address folks with higher needs. Still, he said, the fact that the city listened and expanded its access to shelter is appreciated.
Andi Brauer, who coordinates homeless services at Central Presbyterian, said the city's response to feedback has also been validating for providers. Brauer is one of a handful of advocates who pushed the city to tweak its temperature threshold to open shelters, which she said felt arbitrary at times. Now, more people are seeking shelter and they have more of a heads up.
That's progress, she said.
"I appreciate that people can plan on it," she said. "It's progress and they're trying ... and that helps people."
