DALLAS — After several days of freezing temperatures in North Texas, the conditions can be deadly for those experiencing homelessness.
OurCalling CEO Wayne Walker is partnering with Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, the City of Dallas and other organizations to provide an overnight shelter for those who are experiencing homelessness in Dallas.
“This is a life and death situation,” said Walker. “Friday night was the coldest night that we’ve had.”
This week, they opened an emergency overnight shelter at the automobile building in Fair Park.
“It’s getting a little full and it’s getting a little stuffy,” Walker said. "We’ve run out of certain resources.”
Keeping up with the influx of need has been a challenge. This week, OurCalling welcomed 1,000 new people and provided them with shelter from the freezing temperatures. It’s a major spike from a typical week, where they usually register around 85 new people.
On Saturday, OurCalling announced they’re having trouble securing enough volunteers to keep up with the need.
“We need about 15 people just to serve meals, we need people to walk around and care for individuals,” Wayne said.
Wayne said since last week, OurCalling has spent about $180,000 toward serving the community during the winter storm.
Their outreach team has worked sun up to sun down as they drive through streets and pick up those who are homeless.
The best way to help is by visiting the organization's website to see what the immediate needs are and also register to help.
“It’s not only how do we serve them today, it’s how do we work with them for long-term sustainable options to get them off the streets,” Wayne said.