15 January 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – From police department lobbies to libraries to homeless shelters,
agencies and organizations throughout the state are opening their doors to give people a place to stay in the cold weather.
In sub-freezing temperatures in Newton, the New Hope Shelter is fighting the cold.
“We try to make sure that the furnace is turned up to a reasonable level and we provide them with socks and gloves and hats and scarves and warm coats and that type of thing,” said Brian Bisbee, New Hope Shelter Executive Director
According to Bisbee, this year the cold hasn’t necessarily brought more people in to seek shelter.
“It’s not so much a collective ‘Well, it’s extremely cold out here so we have to seek shelter,’ as it is what’s going on in my particular life,” Bisbee said.
The cold weather can sometimes encourage people to stay in place, according to Bisbee.
“Or they’ve gone to friends and family either in town or outside of town,” Bisbee said.
Meantime in north central Kansas, a public library in Junction City is serving as a source of warmth and resources.
“It’s probably about even, people who are coming in at least in part to get out of the cold and people who are coming in kind of just to stop by to do regular library business,” said Susan Moyer, Dorothy Bramlage Public Library Director
Moyer said the library has limited hours, but staff can help people find other organizations to fill the gaps.
“We also put together a set of kind of community resources that we can get people to take with them, and we also have a resource guide of food and meal resources available in our community,” Moyer said.
It’s a natural extension of the library’s purpose to keep people warm and help them find proper shelter, according to Moyer.
As for New Hope Shelter, Bisbee said he expects more people to come in as the weather warms up mid-next week.
He also said despite the frigid temperatures, residents of the shelter have kept biking and walking to work, not letting the frost stop them.