So, here in the Portland/Gresham area, we have emergency warming shelters. Basically, if it is freezing, especially if there is snow or freezing rain, then the city sponsor churches to open so that the homeless don't catch hypothermia or die in the cold.
However, there's a catch. If there's less than an inch of snow or no freezing rain or if the temperatures is above 25 degrees, then they won't open the shelters on the first or second night of freezing temperatures.
Now for us, we think that any night outside in snow, even if it doesn't accumulate an inch, that's... bad. And we think that perhaps freezing temperatures isn't the best to be sleeping in. So we are letting people in our church. It's not a huge number of people, and it's only for a night or two until the city system gets in gear.
And that's where I'm at tonight. I'm in Gresham, and Jeff Strong is opening up our SE center. If anyone is interested in helping us next time this situation happens, let me know. We'd love to have more volunteers.
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