MILWAUKEE — Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the City of Milwaukee Health Department met with warming center leaders at St. Ben's Parish downtown.
"There were three people who passed away due to the cold weather," Milwaukee Mayor, Cavalier Johnson explained.
Mayor Johnson said it requires the community to keep everyone safe during these cold days. "We’re working to avoid any additional harm among our most vulnerable citizens.”
Each year St. Ben's extends its meal program by providing a warm space for people to seek shelter during these cold months.
"We are seeing an influx, we are seeing a lot more people than we normally do,” Assistant Director of St. Ben’s, Kenny Howard said.
Howard helps oversee the warming center on State Street.
Father Mike Bertram helps run the largest seasonal shelter in the city. He is the Director of Capuchin Community Services.
"We can take as many as 40 men and 20 women. Last night, we bumped up, the men's accommodations and we still had to turn people away,” Fr. Bertram explained.
However, he says the weather is too dangerous to let people stay outside in the cold. "We are not going to put somebody out in the street. So we actually purchased some hotel rooms for the ones who could not find a space here but that's how serious the cold is, that's how serious the homeless issue is."
He says the network of warming shelters is working together.
"We will work with them, we will find them some other place in the city where they can get some kind of shelter for the evening. So, remember St. Ben's, remember places like Guest House, were all trying to work together here,” Fr. Bertram explained.
Both the city and St. Ben's recommend calling 211 if you think someone may need shelter in these frigid temps.
Here are the warming centers the city says are available.
Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church
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