Freezing temps create challenge for homeless
Nelda Wilson was torn between staying inside her makeshift tent or cozying up to the fire she was struggling to keep lit.
As the temperature cascaded into the single digits, well below Oklahoma’s average for Jan. 2, Wilson finally decided to bring some of the hot coals from the fire inside the tent and bundled up inside a blanket with her four dogs.
“When it’s this cold the blankets don’t really do anything,” said Wilson, who is homeless and lives in Oklahoma City.
For the last few days, an arctic air mass has settled over the country, resulting in temperatures far below average in most states.
Temperatures more in line with January averages for Oklahoma — 30s and 40s — are expected to return later this week.
But the subfreezing weather has caused some disruptions across the region, including the closing of schools and an increase in cold-related emergency calls.
From Dec. 17 to Dec. 30, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) averaged a little more than one cold exposure call a day.
Since Dec. 31, EMSA has responded to 10 such calls, with many more likely the result of the freezing weather.
“Cold exposure calls are where someone called specifically because of the cold,” said Lara O’Leary, an EMSA spokeswoman. “But there could be many, many more where the cold played a factor in causing some other issue.”
Most vulnerable to the cold are often those without a home or shelter, which is nearly 1,400 in Oklahoma City, according to the most recent Point-in-Time homelessness report.
“For about the last three days it’s been pretty bad,” said Joseph Depps, who is homeless.
Depps wore five layers of shirts and sweatshirts and had two gloves on each hand. The previous night he slept on a concrete slab in south Oklahoma City, “just trying to stay dry.”
Some of the city’s homeless can grab a spot in one of a few shelters, including some that don’t typically offer overnight stays but have opened their doors due to the weather.
“Normally we offer 14 beds when temperatures are below 32 degrees,” said Mike Bateman, director of the Jesus House, which serves between 300 and 500 meals a day. “We went up to 35 last night, and that’s max per fire code. That’s having them out here in the hallways, sleeping in the chapel and 10 guys in the kitchen.
“But there were probably another 35 guys right outside my door.”
Wednesday’s forecast shows a high near 40 degrees, which would be the first time temperatures have been above freezing in the last three days.
“Winter is always cold,” said Wilson, who said she knew of a shed she might be able to sleep in Tuesday night. “But the past few days have been something else. I’m not used to it and neither are my dogs.”