AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin is opening its overnight cold weather shelters on Saturday and will extend how long they're open until at least Tuesday morning.
The City said it will open a day early, rather than their expected Sunday opening date.
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Registration for the shelter will occur between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. at One Texas Center on Barton Springs Road, which will act as the hub for people looking for overnight shelter. Bus routes to the center are Capital Metro lines 1, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105, 142 and 801. Anyone seeking a cold-weather shelter who doesn't have the means to pay the bus fare will still be given a ride, according to the officials.
"There is no longer a question of if we will have extreme weather in our region, but now when," said Ken Snipes, who serves as Austin's emergency management director.
City leaders said they shared their plans with community partners who work directly with people experiencing homelessness and texted information directly to unsheltered people who are registered with Austin's text alert system.
"We don't want to play catch up," Councilmember Zo Qadri said. "We don't want to play from behind and try to have these get opened up after the fact."
How does Austin determine when to open shelters?
The City's Homeless Strategy Office determines when to open cold weather shelters no later than 9 a.m. each day using the National Weather Service projections for Camp Mabry.
Cold weather shelters are activated if the forecast is predicted to be 32 degrees or colder overnight, 35 degrees or colder overnight with precipitation or 35 degrees or colder overnight with a wind chill of 32 degrees or colder.
While the shelters are primarily used by people experiencing homelessness, they are open to anyone who needs a warm place to spend the night. Anyone looking for information about the shelters can call 512-972-5055. Guidance for shelter guests can also be found on the City's website.
Austin encourages residents to follow austintexas.gov/alerts for emergency information updated in multiple languages.