Denver Rescue Mission Seeing More Need During The Deep Freeze
DENVER (CBS4) - Homeless shelters in the Denver metro area say they're seeing greater need and are closing their door each night over capacity due to the cold weather.
The Denver Rescue Mission's Lawrence Street and Park Avenue location normally opens its doors around 5 p.m., but they're seeing the homeless come in earlier looking for a warm place to lay their heads at night. Tuesday night they said they had men sleeping on mats in the hallway because of the additional need.
Officials at the Rescue Mission said they work with other shelters in the area when they're over capacity but sometimes feel compelled to let more people in than normal.
"When someone is standing there, last night I believe we had an additional six people sleeping in the hallway, and so we do what we need to do to keep people out of the cold and from freezing to death," a Rescue Mission official said.
One man who once struggled with homelessness said he's in a program at the shelter where he stays all day and all night. He said he frequently talks to those who are still homeless.
"I do see a lot of people that come in and they're really cold and they're really hungry and a lot of them have a lot of emotion that they want to let out but they can't; they don't have someone to talk to. So this program is great," he said.
The dangerous temperatures came just one day before Denver's ninth annual "PJ Day." Schools and businesses will be wearing their pajamas and making a donation to put an end to homelessness. The public is also encouraged to attend and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock will be in CBS4 studios on Thursday promoting the kickoff.
LINK: Denver Rescue Mission
