ASHEVILLE (AP) ó Homeless shelters in North Carolina are getting ready for an influx of clients Thursday as temperatures plunge below freezing across the state.
A night or two outside in subfreezing weather can be deadly for the homeless, Amy Sawyer, coordinator of the city of Ashevilleís Homeless Initiative.
ěEven with the shelters doing overflow, there still will be some people spending the night outdoors,î Sawyer told the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Salvation Army spokeswoman Jill Carter in Asheville said her shelter and others were using mattresses and pallets on floors to accommodate extra people. Carter said blankets would be handed out to people who donít want to come inside.
ěWe put people wherever we have floor space,î Carter said. ěWeíll even have some in the lobby.î
The Salvation Army recently received a donation of 50 new coats and will hand those out, she said.
Brian Alexander at Homeward Bound, which operates a day shelter for the homeless, said his group would allow people to stay inside longer and hand out hats, gloves and scarves.
Officials at the Durham Rescue Mission are visiting areas where homeless congregate to try to convince them to come to the shelter to stay warm, The Herald-Sun of Durham reported. The mission also will distribute warm clothing.
The mission is planning to serve a warm breakfast Friday morning before officials go out to find more people to invite to the shelter.
A wind chill advisory was issued by the National Weather Service for Thursday night through noon Friday as a cold front moves through the mountains. The advisory said wind chill will make temperatures feel like minus 5 to minus 10 degrees.
Forecasters said another dusting of snow is expected.
Schools in several western North Carolina counties opened late Thursday because of icy roads. Officials said they didnít want school buses operating on icy roads in most areas and that snow was falling in Avery County.