Pine Street Inn Working To Help Homeless During Bitter Cold
BOSTON (CBS) - The Pine Street Inn is working with other agencies across the city to get people inside and keep them safe during dangerous cold weather conditions.
They have two vans that are out 23 hours a day and looking for people sleeping on the streets.
Tuesday night, they found 79 people outside and they were able to convince five to head to a shelter, all while providing the rest with blankets, soups and hot beverages.
More than 850 people stayed in Boston shelters overnight, which is 98 over capacity.
"We've never turned people away in the winter. We have literally had people sleeping where you're standing, frankly, and obviously, it's crowded, it's warm, it's relatively safe," said Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of The Pine Street Inn. "It's not perfect, it's not pretty, to be honest, as you can probably imagine, but we don't expect in the city to turn anybody away."
Officials say if you're concerned about someone you know or if you see someone sleeping on the streets, the best thing to do is to call 911.
In Boston, residents can call 311 with concerns or questions about cold temperatures.
