Temporary Warming Center Struggles To Include Everyone
By: Jocelyn Tovar, KARK 4 NEWS
Updated: December 31, 2012
One in particular, set-up at the Dunbar Community Center, is struggling to balance all the people who need their services.
It was originally started in order to relieve families who lost electricity during the Christmas storm, but they were quickly overwhelmed.
"I had frostbite from being out in the snow," said Freddy Sullivan who spent two days in the hospital and almost lost some of his fingers for not having a warm place to go.
"It's been kind of cold, but thank God for people like this here," he said.
"We're not turning anybody away," said Matt Burks the emergency management administrator for the City of Little Rock.
Those running the warming center said it's been a challenge balancing the families without electricity with those who don't have a home but also showed up.
"They opened the facility here to take care of families who lost power in the storm," said the homeless services coordinator for Little Rock, Jimmy Pritchett.
To help bring order to the situation, Pritchett is on site to advise the best place to send folks.
The sad reality is some homeless people will refuse to go to a real shelter.
"It's a hard thing when you have those folks," said Pritchett.
Sullivan on the other hand is taking advantage of the services.
"They've already made arraignments to take us to another place with facilities we need," he said. "So, praise God."
They might be packing up but they're certainly not closing their doors.
The warming center will stay open through the night, but it's expected everyone will be in other locations by noon Monday.
It was originally started in order to relieve families who lost electricity during the Christmas storm, but they were quickly overwhelmed.
"I had frostbite from being out in the snow," said Freddy Sullivan who spent two days in the hospital and almost lost some of his fingers for not having a warm place to go.
"It's been kind of cold, but thank God for people like this here," he said.
"We're not turning anybody away," said Matt Burks the emergency management administrator for the City of Little Rock.
Those running the warming center said it's been a challenge balancing the families without electricity with those who don't have a home but also showed up.
"They opened the facility here to take care of families who lost power in the storm," said the homeless services coordinator for Little Rock, Jimmy Pritchett.
To help bring order to the situation, Pritchett is on site to advise the best place to send folks.
The sad reality is some homeless people will refuse to go to a real shelter.
"It's a hard thing when you have those folks," said Pritchett.
Sullivan on the other hand is taking advantage of the services.
"They've already made arraignments to take us to another place with facilities we need," he said. "So, praise God."
They might be packing up but they're certainly not closing their doors.
The warming center will stay open through the night, but it's expected everyone will be in other locations by noon Monday.
