Milwaukee, WI - As record cold temperatures settle in across southeastern Wisconsin, homeless shelters are scrambling to meet the demands of those in need.
Repairers of the Breach opened its doors this week to house people overnight, something the shelter typically doesn’t do until late December.
“These types of things [are] very hard to budget. When mother nature comes, she’s here,” James West said.
West is the shelter's executive director. He said about 30 people stayed overnight Monday when temperatures fell to 14 degrees and about 50 were in the facility throughout Tuesday morning —the shelter has enough space for everyone, but it is in need of supplies.
"Not knowing it would be this soon, some of our collections of gloves and hats and scarves and boots are slowly trickling in, but it doesn’t seem like enough to keep up with the demand,” West said.
Repairers of the Breach is open each day, except Sunday, from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. The shelter is also prepared for overnight shelter anytime temperatures fall below 20 degrees.
