Extreme cold raises overcrowding concerns at People’s City Mission in Lincoln

By ALYSSA JOHNSON

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    Lincoln (Lincoln Journal Star) — As Lincoln faces dangerously cold temperatures, hundreds are turning to the People’s City Mission, where space is rapidly running out.

Tom Barber, CEO of the homeless shelter at 110 Q St., emphasized the severity of the situation for those without a warm place to stay.

“It’s scary. It’s survival,” Barber said. “If you’re out in this cold, you can perish.”

The mission is built to accommodate between 250 to 280 guests, but with the extreme cold, more than 400 people have been seeking shelter a day.

“We are massively overcrowded,” Barber said. “If we go much further, we’re probably going to have to try to solicit some help from either some other agencies or from churches to kind of help us bridge some of the overreach.”

On Feb. 12, when temperatures plunged below zero, about 430 people sought shelter at the mission, and those numbers were expected to rise during this week’s cold snap.

Lincoln is in a cold weather advisory until noon Wednesday because of wind chills that could drop as low as minus 25 to minus 30 degrees. The actual low is forecast to be minus 6. Lincoln will then be in an extreme cold warning starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday with the low Thursday set to drop to minus 19. The National Weather Service says the wind chill in Lincoln could drop to minus 32 degrees or lower.

The extreme cold prompted Lincoln Public Schools to cancel classes Wednesday. Aging Partners centers are also closed Wednesday.

Last week, more than 130 people were left to sleep on the floor at the city mission with only 295 beds available at the shelter. Barber said if the mission reaches 450 guests, they’ll have to ask for outside help, such as from local churches with space like gymnasiums to temporarily house people.

The dangerous temperatures have also led the shelter to suspend certain rules, such as asking guests to leave the mission when conflicts arise.

“No matter how bad you behave, no one deserves to die,” Barber said. “We’re not going to let anybody die on the streets, at least not as long as we can help it.”

Despite the overcrowding, Barber said everything has been running smoothly, with guests cooperating and staff working tirelessly.

“I think the weather kind of slows everyone down because they don’t want to go outside and we don’t want to kick anybody out in this cold weather,” Barber said. “We’ve had great cooperation from the guests. The guests are making the best of it; so is our staff.”

The mission relies on about $20 million in public donations annually, but Barber said nearly all of that is spent each year to meet the community’s needs.

“Lincoln’s a very generous community. They’re very compassionate and so we just let them know the need,” Barber said.

Currently, the mission is in urgent need of extra-large twin mattresses, sheet sets and mattress protectors.

More than anything, Barber said the mission needs more space. The shelter is already looking to build an addition to its existing space, which would more than double the shelter’s capacity from 300 to 700.

“We need to expand the mission desperately, and we’re hoping to do that,” Barber said. “Our goal is to build more shelter in the next three years, because I do not think we can go another 10 years in this building.”

In addition to the shelter showing signs of wear after 35 years, Barber said he doesn’t know how it can continue to accommodate the increasing number of homeless people over the next decade. Homeless advocates have also been arguing for years for alternatives for Lincoln’s homeless population, including low-barrier shelters for people who can’t be admitted or choose not to go to the city mission.

“Lincoln is extremely behind other cities our size across the country in terms of shelter capacity, and we are now starting to feel that,” Barber said. “Homelessness is growing all over the country, everywhere, and we’re not immune to that.”

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