AUSTIN, Texas — Austin opened its cold weather shelters on Saturday night as an Arctic cold front is set to bring the coldest weather of the season to Central Texas.
The shelters will remain open until at least Wednesday. Because of the possibility of wintry precipitation, people staying overnight on Sunday will be allowed to stay during the day on Monday.
Registration occurs between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. each day at One Texas Center on Barton Springs Road. From there, those who register will be taken to a warm place to stay for the night.
“You’re out here in the wind, and that makes it even worse because it dropped the temperature 20 degrees or more,” Regina Herrera said.
Herrera, who has been homeless for the past seven years, said she is grateful to have this option on nights like these, and not to have to use blankets, sleeping bags, tarps and cardboard to stay warm.
“It’s very hard not to have any kind of cover on because the temperatures plummet so bad that we can have hyperthermia or end freezing,” Herrera said. “Sometimes people don’t think that [temperatures] down in the teens is going to not do anything, but it’s very dangerous.”
Officials with the city said they’re sending information to more than 5,000 people who have signed up for text alerts for shelter activations.
Bus routes to the center are Capital Metro lines 1, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105, 142 and 801. Anyone searching for a cold weather shelter who doesn’t have the means to pay the bus fare will still be given a ride, according to the city.
An after-hours service will also be available for anyone needing transportation to a shelter outside of the registration period.
The city said it has shared its plans with community partners who work directly with people experiencing homelessness and texted information directly to unsheltered people who are registered with the city’s text alert system.
While the shelters are primarily used by people experiencing homelessness, they are open to anyone who needs a warm place to spend the night. Anyone looking for information about the shelters can call 512-972-5055. Guidance for shelter guests can be found on the city’s website.
The city determines when to open cold weather shelters using the National Weather Service projections for Camp Mabry. Cold weather shelters are activated if the forecast is predicted to be 35 degrees or colder overnight.
The city encourages residents to follow austintexas.gov/alerts for emergency information updated in multiple languages.
Austin city leaders say they are monitoring the forecast to determine if they need to activate the Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center.
Meanwhile, Texas Emergency Management officials say the state is mobilizing resources to ensure they are prepared to respond to the winter weather.