STAY WARM

Helping the displaced during the cold

Two weeks ago, James Mendez lost his apartment and is now living on the streets. He, and his friend, Fernando Miranda, are a few San Marcos residents who call the Walmart area by Highway 80 home.

Between the two of them, they share a shopping cart with a couple of blankets, gloves and a folded-up cardboard box fashioned into a sleeping pad. With temperatures expected to drop below freezing, the timing couldn’t be worse, but Mendez said he’s tolerated the cold before.

“I’ll sleep outside and give my spot to seniors and mothers with kids,” Mendez, 57, of San Marcos, said. “Get them out of the cold. It would be selfish of me. I’ll deal with this.”

Many displaced individuals are finding respite through various organizations and donations from charity groups. Over the weekend and into Monday, volunteers and local nonprofits were stationed throughout the city, providing food and cold weather gear to those needing supplies.

Southside Community Center, 518 S. Guadalupe St., is taking the necessary steps to temporarily house and feed 40 to 50 residents until Wednesday. The space will be open for extra hours, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner for those looking for a meal and a place to get warm.

Around 40 cots have been set up in the warming center at Southside for sleeping and resting quarters. Employees said they will be monitoring the forecast but are prepared and expecting a large turnout after last year’s freeze in February drew around 50 people daily.

“Once it's 35 degrees or below for three or more consecutive hours, we allow our neighbors to come in, so they have somewhere warm to sit or at nighttime, a place to sleep,” Bianca Hernandez, community engagement coordinator at Southside Community Center, said. “If we reach full capacity, we will house families in hotels that are in need.”

Funding for lodging during emergencies or inclement weather is raised by COAD-SMTX, a consortium of community social organizations who assist with disaster-preparedness initiatives. During the winter storms of 2021, H.O.M.E. Center, a COAD-SMTX member and an organization for homelessness in Hays County, collected $25,000 in donations to house over 200 people, many of them homeless.

H.O.M.E Center members were around the city over the weekend, passing out winter gear and assessing individuals for COVID or related sickness to prevent spreading illnesses at community warming shelters.

'When we go to meet with unhoused residents, we assess individuals for medical issues, like symptoms of COVID or flu, that could be contagious,' H.O.M.E. Center Director Hannah Durrance said. 'Depending on medical conditions, mental health issues, and other factors, we determine whether or not the individual should be placed in a motel room instead of in a community shelter.'

Pastor at Power 2 Prosper Church Lewis Hanserd, 47, of San Marcos, said they operate a food pantry every second Saturday of the month out of their location on 174 S. Guadalupe St. Suite 105. He said with the freeze approaching, getting people access to food is more important than ever.

“It’s a way to connect and help those in need,” Hanserd said. “Whatever we don’t pass out, we take over to the Walmart parking lot and give away the leftover items to the homeless, so the food doesn’t go to waste.”

Southside volunteer Jason Alvarez, 41, of San Marcos, was unpacking folding cots Friday afternoon in the shelter’s warming area. He said two years ago, he was a client at Southside and now he's a volunteer after turning his life around.

“This place helped me when I was down and out,” Alvarez said. “They offered me food, companionship, gave me hope when I didn’t think there was any. Now, it’s like these people deserve to see me do better. I got help and came back as a volunteer because I know what it’s like.”

For Hernandez, seeing people, both those in need and the volunteers, come together to help the city’s unhoused is a reminder of the humanity that always exists in times of need.

“Because someone doesn't have a roof over their head, does not make them any less of a person, or any less human,” she said. “It doesn't make them any different from what anyone else would need. We all need help at one point or another. Some way, one way or another, we are always going to help each other.”

Southside is currently seeking donations of jackets, winter gear, food and blankets. Donations to Power 2 Proser, H.O.M.E. Center, and Southside Community Center can be made on their respective websites.