Volunteers keep shelter at Fair Park open for another arctic blast
DALLAS - With another blast of cold weather blanketing North Texas Saturday night, several agencies and organizations are continuing to provide a warm place to stay for hundreds of people in Dallas.
"If you see someone out on the streets experiencing homelessness in this weather it's not just dangerous it's fatal," said pastor Wayne Walker the CEO of OurCalling.
That's why the city of Dallas in collaboration with OurCalling and the Austin Street Shelter and several other agencies has operated an inclement weather shelter at Fair Park since last week.
"Earlier today a man told me a story about a friend of his who died in this weather this recent week, so it's important and it's a beautiful picture of all these agencies coming together to create a solution for our most vulnerable neighbors," said Walker.
They expect about 750 people to shelter at Fair Park tonight. And another 250 at the Austin Street Shelter. The shelters reached capacity last Sunday.
"We have expansion capacity for more people to come here and Austin Street does as well, so we're prepared," said Walker.
It takes a lot to keep a shelter of this size running—including a team of dedicated volunteers like Joshua Harper, who's been volunteering with OurCalling for a year now.
"Helping out with dinner, engaging with the guests, play chess a few times with some people," said Joshua Harper, an OurCalling volunteer.
Harper says his greatest inspiration is when he sees guests he's served, exit homelessness and find homes.
"These are just people, these are people with the same needs you and I have we have a community around us that helps support us and carry us through hard times and oftentimes they don't," said Harper.
Guests at the Fair Park inclement weather shelter are given breakfast lunch and dinner and a bag of snacks and warm clothing to take with them when the shelter is mandated to close Sunday afternoon.
"Being able to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, Jesus taught us to love our neighbor and these are our neighbors," said Harper.
If you see someone struggling outside in the cold you can call 311 and teams will come pick them up and bring them to one of the city's shelters.
You can also use the OurCalling app which allows you to pinpoint that person's exact location on a map and OurCalling team members will come and pick them up.
For more information about how to volunteer with OurCalling or how you can donate items to help OurCalling serve our most vulnerable neighbors this winter, click here.