San Antonio officials said the city won’t open overnight warming centers during the cold front now gripping the area, even though temperatures will dip below freezing several times this week.
That decision hits the city’s unhoused population particularly hard, especially as those individuals are already contending with overflowing shelters and daily encampment sweeps.
City Manager Erik Walsh illuminated San Antonio’s official plan of action in an email he distributed over the weekend to Mayor Nirenberg and City Council. In the message, he stated that temperatures are low enough to trigger the addition of some temporary homeless shelters. However, he added that conditions would have to worsen to trigger overnight warming centers and additional emergency protocols.
In anticipation of the freezing temperatures, groups serving the street homeless population have opened up emergency shelters throughout the city.
“The Department of Human Services Street Outreach, alongside community partners teams (CAM, SAMMinistries, Haven for Hope, Corazon and Centro Ambassadors) began last week their outreach to the unsheltered population ahead of the inclement weather,” Walsh’s email read.