Poughkeepsie resident loses toes to cold; social workers press clients to accept shelter ahead of weekend arctic blast
Local advocates for the homeless and poorly housed are doing extra this weekend to encourage their clients to go to local warming centers and the county's shelter.
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Ahead of this weekend's extreme cold, a Dutchess County nonprofit is accounting for all its clients who are homeless or just have substandard housing to compel them to retreat out of the elements and accept shelter.
The agency expects to keep all its clients alive, though there already have been some cold-weather injuries.
Some of the city's more vulnerable residents are not yet aware of the danger ahead.
At just age 21, Alexus O'Melia already has years of experience living day-to-day on the streets.
She is considering going to the county shelter this weekend after a News 12 informed her "feel like" temperatures could reach as low as -20 degrees.
When asked where she usually finds shelter on cold nights, O'Melia did not try to save face.
"I'm going to be honest, completely honest," O'Melia said. "[I stay] around hallways and stuff like that, just to hide out."
"Wow. I didn't even know," she reacted when told how cold the weather could be Saturday. "Currently, I don't even have a phone. I'm working on it now today."
Local advocates for the homeless and poorly housed are doing extra this weekend to encourage their clients to go to local warming centers and the county's shelter.
Mental Health America of Dutchess CEO Andrew O'Grady said that if his outreach team finds someone who is staying out in the cold refusing to accept help, the team will request that police respond to remove the person to a hospital to be evaluated and then possibly taken to a shelter.
O'Grady said it usually does not come to the point of involving the police since many of Poughkeepsie's more vulnerable residents already know MHA social workers and trust them.
"We're reenforcing that the shelters are available to them and they should access them," he said Friday in an interview at MHA's office. "We're reenforcing what the forecast is. Many people don't watch the forecast. They have no idea what's coming."
So far this winter, the agency has not dealt with weather-related deaths, although there were some cases of frostbite, one of which resulted in a city resident's toes being amputated.
O'Grady is asking that any business owner or resident who might see someone trying to set up shelter outside their properties call MHA or the police.
"The police will not go harm the person or arrest them," O'Grady said. "They will get them to shelter because they need to be in shelter. It's dangerous, very dangerous."
Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers told News 12 Friday afternoon she, too, is worried for the city's homeless and poorly housed population.
"We are extremely concerned with the temperatures dropping below zero this weekend and individuals still trying to sleep on the streets," she said. "I urge them not to stay on the streets and please go to any of the warming centers to stay warm. We will be facing dangerous cold weather and we want everyone in our city to stay warm and safe."
Overnight shelters, including the temporary pods on North Hamilton Street, will provide shelter this weekend to anyone, regardless of whether they plan to enter into a longer term residence program.
Warming centers are located at Christ Episcopal Church on Carroll Street and at the Salvation Army Poughkeepsie Corps Community Center on Pershing Avenue.
