"I'm cold and I'm scared", the drama of the homeless in the dangerous polar wave in the United States. – 30/01/2019

While temperatures in the US Midwest have collapsed to levels lower than those in parts of Antarctica, officials have warned the population that do not exit or Even for a few minutes, Tony Neeley stood on Tuesday at the corner of a downtown Chicago street, wearing a pair of wet sneakers and hang on a package to warm your hands. He had been there for hours.

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"I'm cold and scared," Neeley said he was trying to collect enough money from suburban commuters who showed up to pay a motel room valued at $ 45 a night while meteorologists l? warned that a very strong polar wave would reach the Midwest. Region has not seen for years.

How about the possibility of going to one of the 20 official shelters in Chicago and cities like Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Detroit, which forced the homeless to seek heat while waiting for the extremely cold weather and dangerous?

"You do not understand," said Neeley. "Many of us do not go to shelters by bedbugs; we will not go because they steal from you; We do not go there because we can not even sleep in the shelter. But my feet are cold and this garment is the only thing I have. "

While the polar wave was dragging an air mbad from the Arctic to the center of the country, states like Michigan and Wisconsin have declared urgency, canceled clbades in schools and universities, closed museums and encouraged many workers to stay at home. . However, while health officials issued numerous warnings about the dangers of hypothermia and frost, the homeless faced circumstances potentially devastating.

It was expected that the gravity of the threat would reach its highest point on Wednesday, a day that forecasters expect could bring two-digit real temperatures below zero and wind-chill readings caused by wind . 50 or 60 degrees below zero. Leaving aside the wind, Chicago's maximum temperature is expected to be 15 degrees below zero and the minimum of 26 degrees below zero, according to Tuesday night's forecast.

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Cold winter temperatures are nothing new for the homeless in the Midwest, and big cities have always intended to help them. However, several cities in the region, including Akron (Ohio) and Kalamazoo (Michigan), had painful estimates of the number of homeless camps over the past year. And the hot winds that burn the face, present this week, as well as expected freezing temperatures soon, have resulted in a high level of risk for the homeless. rarely seen

While locals rushed to Chicago on Tuesday, many of them were making last-minute purchases before settling in their homes and waiting for the worst weather, many areas where homeless people congregate. They have also been abandoned.

However, you could see a camp on Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago, a street under the downtown offices, where someone slept under a pile of blankets and next to a pair of shoes. A 60-year-old man sitting at the entrance to a State Street pharmacy, a sign of help at the neck, asked him for help. He stated that he had slept outside the night before and that he had not been able to warm up even after several hours and that he still had no plans for the night ahead.

The Chicago Coalition for Homelessness (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless) estimates that about 80,000 people do not have a roof in the Chicago area. Estimates of the homeless population in the Midwest vary considerably.

In Detroit, officials said they ran against time to reach the homeless and provide them with safe havens and transportation. In Cleveland, city and county officials said they were working with shelters and non-profit organizations to find safe shelter for the homeless. And in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the leaders said they kept the shelters open during the day and the stores offered snacks and lunches.

In Milwaukee, home to about 900 homeless and street-involved people, shelters have been opened and community-based agents have crisscrossed the city trying to convince people to take refuge in the interior.

"We are always worried, but especially when someone can freeze in about eight minutesSays Wendy Weckler, executive director of Hope House, a family shelter, who helps coordinate the preparation. "The outreach workers are looking for people and are trying to find those who do not usually come and put them in a safe place. . "

Chicago officials said the 20 shelters for people were open, with more beds prepared and workers' teams had been working all night, forcing the homeless to take shelter. Libraries, police stations and community centers are being used as shelters, and city officials have sought the help of ministers to consider opening new premises.

"No one needing a safe and warm place will be left out," said Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, during a report on the catastrophic climate. "No."

Five buses from Chicago were scheduled to tour the city early Wednesday so that the homeless could at least warm up, turned into a mobile hosting centerif they did not accept another shelter.

"No one should be on the street with this climate," said Lisa Morrison Butler, Commissioner of the Family and Support Services Department of Chicago.

Douglas Schenkelberg, executive director of the Chicago Coalition for Homelessness, said that when the extreme cold has settled in, there seems to be less homelessness on the streets. He said that with all the warnings, people found an emergency shelter, staying with friends and family, looking for a bed in a homeless shelter or going to a health center. Accommodation provided by the city.

The problem, said Schenkelberg, is what happens after the weather has improved a little.

"We will have this bad weather until thursday and then, the temperature will increase a bit and the increased capacity will disappear. We will see people on the street again and they need a home, "he said. "This sense of urgency disappears completely when the crisis is resorbed. "

On Michigan Avenue Tuesday, not far from a bunch of stunning retail stores known as the Chicago Magnificent Mile, a man was sitting cross-legged on the floor, under a gray blanket; in front of him, a container to collect coins from pbaders-by.

He commented that I was trying to raise 20 bucks to pay for a room where they would allow him to stay for that price. He said to call Andre Jones and carry a cardboard sign with the caption: "Homeless and cold, God bless me!" An employee who was pbading, sheltered and protected by a headscarf, watched him in horror: "He must not be outside," he said, promising to leave his office with an eyebrow. help. A pbading motorist also stopped, took out a dollar bill that he handed him by the window of his car, noting that it was too cold, even to stay sitting there.

"I have almost enough money to pay for a room tonight," he said. "Believe me, I'm going to raise that money, I'm not going to stay here tonight."

By Julie Bosman and Monica Davey. c.2019 New York Times News Service