With temperatures expected to drop again at the end of this week, the City of Philadelphia will continue its efforts to provide warmth and shelter to those in need.
The city's Office of Emergency Shelter and Services, in partnership with Philadelphia's Outreach Coordination Center, declared a mandatory "Code Blue" alert on Jan. 6.
The city calls for a Code Blue when temperatures drop below 20 degrees. The measure has been taken 19 times this winter already, according to a city press release from last week.
The alert may be reinstated depending on weather conditions by tomorrow or Thursday.
Emergency shelters must comply with the measure by providing additional areas to accommodate those brought in by outreach teams.
Extended hours are offered by both outreach teams functioning 24 hours a day to assist those in need of shelter, and participating shelters who can allow clients space throughout the day and night.
With the declaration of a Code Blue, outreach teams also have the power to implement the Court Ordered Transportation to Shelter procedure by alerting the on-call city solicitor and common pleas court judge.
The COTS procedure can force individuals inside who are not compliant in order to avoid needless deaths from cold-related circumstances.
"Our intent is to get everybody we can into safe, warm shelter," said Rob Hess, deputy managing director for Special Needs Housing for the city in a press release.
Even with the implementation of a Code Blue, the cold temperatures did contribute to the death of one West Philadelphia man over the weekend.
The man was found in a house without heat in 4 degrees below zero temperatures, and apparently died of hypothermia, according to The Associated Press.
The cold also affected the rest of the Northeast, resulting in the deaths of a Baltimore woman who died of carbon monoxide poisoning and a teenager in New York who died in a car accident as the result of icy conditions.
The City Department of Licenses and Inspections offers a heat-crisis hotline for those without heat due to lack of finances or resources.
No one in need will be turned away from any shelter in a Code Blue emergency.
Nationally recognized for its response to street homelessness, the City of Philadelphia estimates that there are fewer than 200 individuals living on the streets, according to the press release.
Smaller cities including Phoenix, Detroit and San Francisco report 4,684, 1,208 and 4,535 people living on the street, respectively.
Citizens are asked to call a 24-hour emergency outreach number if they see someone in need of shelter and an outreach team will be dispatched to offer shelter to the individual.
For the winter season, the city also maintains a Web site updated with hints and tips to conserve energy while maintaining heat in homes for both owners and renters.
