Shelters extending hours, adding space in response to bitter cold

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Shelters in the Twin Cities metro area are responding to accomodate those in need during the bitter cold sweeping through the state this week.

The Salvation Army is opening up their doors across the Twin Cities to help folks in need get out of the extreme cold. The Harbor Light Center on Currie Avenue in downtown Minneapolis is now open 24 hours. Inside, men and women are already escaping the cold and getting warm drinks and food rather than being forced to stay outside.

“People are like, ‘I enjoy the weather like this, I don’t have to go out,’ but now what happens to people that are out, they have to come in somewhere and the Salvation Army is willing to open our doors,” said Captain Bersabe Vera of the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army also has warming centers opening on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There are several locations in Minneapolis, Maplewood, Brooklyn Park and St. Paul. For more information, click here.

Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities is also preparing for overflow in light of the incoming bitter weather. There will be additional space at the St. Paul men’s campus at 435 University Avenue East in St. Paul over the next three days.