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Friday, January 24, 2003

By Steve Levin and Mackenzie Carpenter, Post-Gazette Staff Writers

On most cold nights, Jeff Stokely stays warm by sleeping on a ventilation grate outside the Salvation Army building along Cherry Way, Downtown.

Volunteer James "Moon" Johnson takes names and birthdates as the homeless seek shelter at Smithfield United Church, Downtown. (Joyce Mendelsohn, Post-Gazette) Online graphic: Recent temperatures. Deep freeze causes school delays; woman found frozen in Westmoreland County Neighbors are urged to check on the elderly. Road salt is becoming a hot commodity. HOV Lanes to remain open during snow. White House warms to legislation that would provide low income Pennsylvanians with help in paying their heating bills.

But for many of the past 14 nights, when temperatures have dropped into single digits, Stokely has gone elsewhere to sleep -- to the Allegheny County Severe Weather Emergency Shelter for the Homeless on Smithfield Street.

Whenever the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures or wind chills around 20 degrees or lower, the emergency shelter opens. Located in the basement of Smithfield United Church, it has been open for 27 nights since Dec. 1. Seventeen of those nights have been this month.

"I went there a few times before," said Stokely, 41, of Dormont, who has been living on the streets for several months. "It all depends on how cold it is."

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh forecast a low of about 8 degrees last night. AccuWeather forecast a high today of 22.

It's so cold that Dr. Jim Withers, medical director and founder of Operation Safety Net, which provides medical care to homeless people, has been handing out two sleeping bags instead of one to those who insist on sleeping outdoors.

It also means that Withers is almost out of sleeping bags. Cots, too, because his usual supplier, the military, needs them for other purposes these days -- like a possible war in Iraq. As a result, some homeless people have had to sleep on the floor at the shelter.

"It's been very crowded," Withers said. "We try not to turn people away, but this is definitely the worst winter we've had since 1994, which was horrible."

Other shelters have had to turn people away.

	Rich Jones has some hot soup yesterday while panhandling along Forbes Avenue. He said he doesn't go to the shelters at night because they will not allow him to take his sleeping bags and he cannot have the smell of alchol on his breath. (Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette)

"They are all full," said a woman who answered the phone at ACTION-Housing Inc., which refers people to shelters. "All we can do is tell them to call earlier, or hopefully find a family member who will take them in."

Should the emergency shelter run out of room, officials can turn to the Salvation Army gymnasium. Ginny Knor, the Salvation Army's spokeswoman, said it is opened up for overflow whenever county officials request it.

The brutal temperatures have made the outdoors particularly dangerous for street people because of the wind chill, which occasionally has made it feel as cold as 15 degrees below zero.

Earlier this week, 109 people were jammed into the emergency shelter operated by Smithfield United Church, far more than the usual 50 to 80 who come in during cold weather, Withers said. Community Human Services staffers have called for extra volunteers to help prepare and serve food and spend time talking with the overnight guests.

	Claudette, a familiar sight among the city's homeless, has been using a hot-air vent, plastic bags, blankets and sleeping bags -- but not a shelter -- to stay warm as sub-freezing temperatures enter Day 13 in the Pittsburgh region. (Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette)

Still, some are refusing to come indoors. Withers says there are probably about 15 homeless people still out on the streets, and he and his co-workers are continuing to take food to them, mostly ham and cheese or peanut butter sandwiches, "because carbohydrates produce heat more quickly."

He's seen some cases of trench foot, a circulatory disorder that occurs when the feet are chronically cold and wet, which in turn increases the risk of infection. And one man was sent to Mercy Hospital with a case of severe frostbite in his feet.

"He was exhausted, fell asleep, and when he woke, his feet were frozen," said Withers, who added he wasn't sure if the man's feet would have to be amputated.

The cold weather shelter, which operates each year between Dec. 1 and March 30, is staffed by Community Human Services, an Oakland-based social services agency that has outreach and housing programs for the homeless, and Mercy Hospital's Operation Safety Net. It is funded by Allegheny County's Department of Human Services and the state Department of Public Welfare.

The shelter provides a free hot meal, showers, restrooms and a bedroll for the night. Social workers are available to counsel people about drug and alcohol issues, employment and housing. Lockers are available to store personal belongings.

For more information about volunteering at the Severe Weather Emergency Shelter for the Homeless, call 412-350-3837 or 412-350-4354.