PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County officials are opening warming shelters as cold weather grips the area, but one commissioner wants to change the rules that determine when these life-saving facilities can open their doors.
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Currently in Palm Beach County, overnight warming shelters can only open when temperatures drop below 40 degrees for four consecutive hours.
County Commissioner Joel Flores is pushing to raise that threshold to 45 or 50 degrees, arguing the current standard doesn't adequately protect the county's most vulnerable residents.
"I'm freezing below 60 degrees and for us to wait till it's under 40 degrees for four consecutive hours, I think it's not protecting those that are most vulnerable," Flores said. "You can get sick, you can get pneumonia, you can get bronchitis."
The urgency of the issue becomes clear when examining recent weather data.
According to First Alert Meteorologist Frances Peyton, only one day last year saw temperatures below 40 degrees in West Palm Beach - New Year's Eve at 39 degrees.
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For people like Devin Perry, who sleeps outdoors, even 60-degree daytime temperatures feel harsh after enduring 40-degree nights.
"It's been kind of a challenge, it's been very chilly," Perry said.
Perry has turned to The Lord's Place for warmth, but the facility is only open during the day.
He said the organization provided him with blankets and supplies to help him through the cold nights.
The cold weather threshold at shelters is an issue WPTV's Joel Lopez has been tracking for a year when Flores first asked county staff to look up the numbers of people who attend the shelters.
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"It's always a dollars to cents type of issue," said Flores.
The county has faced challenges with low turnout at some shelters that they help staff, prompting officials to ramp up community outreach efforts with partner organizations that operate the facilities.
"We have to communicate one-on-one, because these people don't have access to a cell phone, internet, TV, so we have to get them where they're at," Flores said.
The county has partnered with PalmTran to transport people to The Lord's Place, which remains open to clients during the day, and the Salvation Army Center of Hope on Military Trail, which provides overnight warming.
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Christine Frederick, CEO of The Lord's Place, said the cold weather creates multiple hardships for homeless individuals.
"They are cold, it's uncomfortable, they're out at night, it's freezing, they don't have enough gear, it also sparks hunger and all of those other things, cause their body is using so much energy just trying to stay warm," Frederick said.
Earlier this week, The Lord's Place turned to WPTV as they were desperately seeking cold weather clothing donations, having only enough supplies to help 5% of their homeless clients at the time.
Since that story aired, Frederick said they've received a tremendous response from the community. The organization has been preparing for a surge in clients and has already seen an increase in people using their warming area and cafe.
"People are just trying to get warm before they feel like they have to brave the evening out in the cold again," Frederick said.
WATCH BELOW: The Lord's Place in need of winter supplies to help people without shelter
The Lord's Place, which usually isn't open on weekends, will open their doors as a warming location this weekend. Frederick supports changing the temperature threshold for opening warming shelters.
"I'm always going to err on the side of what's best for our homeless neighbors and it would be amazing if they can get off the streets before it was a sustained temperature of below 40," Frederick said. "Because even now and what it's been at the last few nights, it's been very cold and they don't have anywhere to protect themselves."
Flores plans to propose the policy changes at the next commission meeting on Tuesday.
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