Frigid temps raise ‘White Flag’ at Louisville homeless shelters

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - As temperatures dipped well below freezing, three Louisville shelters worked to get as many homeless people as possible into a warm place to sleep.

Shelters operated by Wayside Christian Mission, St. Vincent DePaul and the Salvation Army launched “Operation White Flag,” indicating the shelters would not turn away anyone seeking refuge from the cold.

“We have floor mats that we use along with the blankets and linens and so forth,” Nina Moseley, Chief Operating Officer for Wayside Christian Mission said. “And we set those up in the dining room for the men. We set them up in the TV room upstairs for women and the family members. So we just know if the weather is like this, we’re going to make safe, we’re going to adjust and we’re going to do everything we can to keep them safe.”

Moseley said 36 people came in from out of the cold at the Wayside shelter.

It was the first major cold event in the city this season. But it still wasn’t cold enough to get everyone inside.

On Friday afternoon, several people could still be seen bundled up and camped out in the usual locations downtown.

Moseley said the shelter views a White Flag event as an opportunity to provide more long term help if the person is interested.

“They may only come in in extreme weather,” Moseley said. “And while they’re here, we do our best to make sure they’re healthy, to encourage them and hopefully to get them to a point to where they’ll want to stay in.”

Anyone seeking a local shelter and to reserve a bed is asked to call the Single Point of Entry line at (502) 637-2237.

Copyright 2022 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.