Nonprofit takes emergency kits to homeless community during freeze

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) --- Cities throughout Central Texas began preparing to handle what the possible wintry weather will bring this week. H.O.M.E Center took matters into its own hands and passed out emergency kits to the unhoused community in San Marcos.

"We'll be out tonight on the streets looking for individuals who are unhoused. We'll hand them bags. We received a donation of bags from the Red Cross that already had some emergency supplies in them," said H.O.M.E Center Director Hannah Durrance.

The nonprofit works with individuals to help them get into housing, and provides case management afterwards as well.

Durrance said when the temperatures drop, they go out on the streets to give unhoused community members emergency supplies. Along with that, they offer rides to the Southside Community Center, which opened as a winter shelter.

"We're not just going to be going to the main areas, looking behind certain businesses that we know people often are at," Durrance said. "We'll be actually going into the woods, looking in places that people are less likely to be looking for them, and hopefully locate some individuals and get them out."

The city of San Marcos said it is making an effort to let people know about resources as well.

"We've been actively trying to reach out to the folks that are, we know are facing homelessness, to get them that information, which we provided to them, and getting them there for their assistance," said Reese Martin, the city of San Marcos' assistant emergency management coordinator.

Martin said the city also has utility personnel on standby for any potential outages. He said the San Marcos Public Works Department is stocked up on supplies to keep the roads de-iced if that were to happen.

With temperatures dangerously low this whole week, Durrance said they'll be out in the community every day.

"Get them stable, make sure that we don't lose anybody on the streets," Durrance said.