Paul Sassone

They are a blessing.

They are a disgrace.

Thank heaven that warming shelters exist. It’s disgraceful that they are needed in the first place.

To think that we have to create places to which the poor, the elderly and the infirm can go to avoid freezing to death does not say much for us as a society.

In a truly civilized and caring society warming shelters would not be necessary. In that society it would be assumed citizens would have safety from freezing to death as a right. Action would be taken, systems would be in place, to see no one suffered from the cold.
But, we unfortunately don’t live in that society.

In our society — as we see on the news almost every night — unfortunate people huddle in tents or in boxes under viaducts just to stay alive. We watch as homeless shelters are forced to shut down in the teeth of painfully frigid weather because Illinois has no budget.
The result? Illness and death.

The latest count I can find is almost 10 deaths from hypothermia in Cook County. Hypothermia results when the body loses heat faster than it can generate heat. And frostbite is the freezing of skin and underlying tissue.

Hypothermia and frostbite are what happens to people forced to endure the cold because they have inadequate — or no — shelter.

But, we are not a completely heartless people. We offer some help to those who suffer from winter’s icy grip.

We offer warming shelters.

There are approximately 30 warming shelters in Cook County and six such shelters in the City of Chicago. And if the cold becomes severe enough, Chicago can open libraries, senior citizen centers and park district facilities as warming centers.

These efforts are not to be dismissed lightly. They do provide help.
But you can see the problems.

First, there aren’t enough shelters. There is not transportation to most of the warming centers. And the warming centers usually are only open from during the day on weekdays, not on weekends.

Still, the warming centers are there. Please use them if you suffer from the cold.
In Chicago, residents seeking relief from the cold should call 311 to:

• locate a warming center;
• request a well-being check;
• report inadequate heat in an apartment;
• learn about programs to assist with heating costs;
• connect to shelter and support services.

Cook County residents can learn the location of warming centers in the county by calling (708) 865-4766, or going on line to cookcountyhomelandsecurity.org/cook-county-warmingcenters.

Alas, there is only one complete way to alleviate those who suffer from winter.
And it is nothing we as a society, or as a people, do.
It is the arrival of spring.

–Thank heaven for warming centers–