DALLAS — Emergency shelters in the city of Dallas will stay open for the rest of the week, the City of Dallas said on Twitter Tuesday evening.
The opening allows homeless services to reach additional unhoused people who might not normally choose to come in out of the elements.
Doug Tucker, 57, is one of those people. Homeless for the last 13 years after losing a commercial trucking job, he says the weather in the teens finally led him to accept a ride to the emergency shelter at Austin Street Center.
"You live. You live one day at a time," he said on his second day inside the overflow shelter.
"Since it became cold weather I just pile up with covers," he said of his usual routine on the streets of downtown Dallas. "I put one down on the cement and I take like maybe 8 or 10 or 12 blankets and pile them on top of me," he said explaining how he's survived outside.
"I have a genuine desire to stay inside off the street now," he said after staying at Austin Street Center. "Because it's just, physically it's breaking me down."
Tucker is among roughly 2,000 who have received help so far at "temporary inclement weather shelters" in Dallas over the past four days. The primary shelter is at the Grand Place Building at Fair Park which neared its 1,000 capacity again Monday night.
More than 700 are being sheltered at two facilities operated by Austin Street Center. Dozens more are receiving help at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church. Each facility, coordinated with additional help by Our Calling and the Dallas Office of Homeless Solutions, offers medical evaluations, mental health services, and a chance to find a permanent home.
"Because you never know you hit the person on the right day they decide that day is the day they are willing to accept support," said Austin Street Center CEO Daniel Roby.
"I'm blessed. I'm grateful," said Mark Jackson, 30, who also spent the last few nights at the Austin Street Center emergency shelter. Resources offered during his stay included a cell phone so he could have a consistent point of contact for job applications. He finished a second round of phone interviews Tuesday, while at the shelter, for a potential service industry job.
"Hopefully I'll be on my feet next time this comes around," he said while admitting to bad financial choices that contributed to the past three months of not having a place of his own. "But I'm grateful to everyone who's helped out and who's supported us."
Still, with the City of Dallas's homeless population estimated at more than 10,000, there are thousands preferring to take their chances on the streets.
Paul Miller Jr., bundled up with a group of a half dozen outside Dallas City Hall on Tuesday, said his collection of belongings wouldn't be allowed inside an emergency shelter, so he continues his plight outside.
"All that's gone. It's gone," he said pointing to his bedroll and a duffle bag full of belongings. "I'm a Yankee," he said when asked how he survives the bitter cold. "I'm from New Jersey. I've been through worse."
"Ultimately, homelessness isn't just an addiction issue or just a mental health issue. It's a housing issue," added Roby. "And we need to make sure we are addressing that issue for every person we come in contact with."
As of Tuesday, the following emergency shelters remain open: Fair Park, Grand Place, 3701 Grand Ave., Dallas; Austin Street Shelter II, 2929 Hickory St., Dallas.; Oak Lawn UMC, 3014 Oak Lawn Ave.
The Office of Homeless Solutions says they will remain open "until the inclement weather comes to a halt."