As temperatures drop and local shelters remain full, advocates for Pittsburgh’s homeless are worried the city and county aren’t doing enough to bring people indoors. And they are calling for a clearer policy on when emergency shelter space will be open.
“It’s cold outside. People’s lives are in danger,” said Chase Archer Evans, who has experienced homelessness for more than a dozen years, at a meeting of Allegheny County’s Homeless Advisory Board Tuesday. Evans is a community partner on the board.
Allegheny County and Pittsburgh officials announced a “severe weather action plan” earlier this month. The plan added 40 additional shelter beds to the system for the winter, and planned for additional capacity on especially cold nights. But officials haven’t shared many details about the conditions under which the additional shelter space would open.
The Homeless Advisory Board — which is staffed with advocates and people who have experience with homelessness — is seeking to change that. Members penned a letter to Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services and Mayor Ed Gainey’s office Tuesday, requesting additional shelter be made available by Wednesday. The letter also asks officials to set formal criteria for when to open up overflow capacity.
“Members at today’s meeting were upset that there was no plan to open additional overflow immediately,” the email reads.
The county has historically opened emergency winter shelters when temperatures dip below 25 degrees. Temperatures were expected to reach that point overnight, but additional shelters did not open. That raised questions about what conditions would trigger the opening of overflow shelters.
Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services could not be reached for comment after the letter went out late Tuesday afternoon.
The letter calls for officials to set a new standard that would open shelter space when temperatures reach 32 degrees or below. Members called on government officials to “work as fast as possible to open safe, warm space to Pittsburgh and Allegheny County residents living outside within the next 24 hours to ensure their safety.”
Maria Montaño, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s communications director, said the city shares the HAB's concerns, and is working “diligently” with the county to increase capacity.
“Our outreach workers are working to make sure that we can move as many people as we can as well as providing them with cold weather gear and support,” she said.
But she did not provide details about when capacity could expand, and directed questions about the temperature threshold to Allegheny County.
In the meantime, Pittsburgh City Council is set to discuss a plan Wednesday to do more for the city’s homeless encampments. A bill before members would authorize riverfront property to be used for city-sanctioned encampments. A zoning change would set the stage for the city to provide tents, heating, plumbing and medical services.
The bill was proposed last week by Council members Deb Gross and Anthony Coghill.
