Baltimore shelters increasing space for homeless during bone-chilling cold
BALTIMORE - Staying outside for even a short amount of time is dangerous for people and pets.
But imagine living out in those conditions.
Temperatures are expected to drop into single digits overnight and windchill will fall below 0 degrees throughout this Christmas weekend.
Baltimore City has been placed under a Code Blue Extreme Cold Alert, which indicates an increased risk for cold injuries or even death due to extremely low temperatures.
The City has activated emergency services to:
- Distribute meals to at-risk senior citizens
- Provide home weatherization services
- Help individuals apply for energy assistance
- Provide additional cold weather education and outreach efforts
The Mayor's Office of Homeless Services works with city homeless shelter providers to extend shelter hours and to provide expanded bed capacity as part of their Winter Shelter Plan.
According to the Winter Shelter Plan, the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services (MOHS) will provide emergency shelter to
all people experiencing homelessness on nights when the temperature with wind chill reaches freezing.