People sit around Gateway to Hope to stay warm. Gateway to Hope helps the homeless in Tyler through providing a place to stay warm, do laundry and shower. (Contributed photo/Gateway to Hope)

The Salvation Army, Gateway to Hope and Tyler Street Team are helping people in need stay warm.

Tyler Street Team Executive Director Shana Yeatts spent Sunday and Monday driving around to check on people experiencing homelessness. As she drove around, she looked for people without coats walking around and asked them if they needed clothing to stay warm. They had gloves, sleeping bags and silver emergency blankets to help people stay warm and gave out kolaches and doughnuts. She checked on two people who are mentally ill and elderly and sleep under the bridge.

She also visited under the bridge at Valentine Street, to check on two older people who have mental health concerns. Yeatts said she visited Sunday and Monday morning.

“… I don’t know how they do it,” she said. Pro-longed exposure in freezing temperatures can be very dangerous.

Those in need of shelter can go to The Salvation Army in Tyler which is open 24/7. Officials said they have seen people come in to stay warm since Sunday night. They had 25 people staying in and saw eight more people come in late Monday afternoon, according to Trevesia Chevis, manager of social services at The Salvation Army.

“It’s running smoothly right now, everybody’s in [and] out of the weather,” Chevis said.

Gateway to Hope had 35 people using its warming station Monday. It stayed open through the night to provide shelter for those experiencing homelessness and needed somewhere to stay warm.

“We knew that we wanted to do something for the unsheltered, for the homeless population,” Hiway 80 Director of Tyler Ministries Jason Brandon said. “We discussed it and we thought, you know what, we can’t shelter anyone but why don’t we just stay open because you never know for the homeless that may be out under the bridge or it might be in the woods in a tent, or maybe in a house with no heat, but (they’ve) got to go do something and get out of those elements from this cold that was life threatening. So we were there.”

Gateway to Hope will also be open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. as weather conditions are expected to be the same.

A wind chill advisory remains in effect through noon Tuesday. Bitterly cold wind chills ranging as low as -9 degrees north of I-30 will be possible. Below zero wind chills are still possible south of I-20. Hypothermia or frostbite is likely with prolonged exposure, according to NWS.

Tuesday’s high is expected to be 26 degrees in Tyler, but conditions in the sky will be becoming more sunny. The low will be about 17 degrees. Wednesday is when things are expected to warm up past freezing, with a high of 42 degrees.

Warming centers

The Salvation Army, 633 N. Broadway Ave., is open 24/7 and ready to receive people in need of warm shelter.

The following locations are on standby and will serve as warming centers if needed:

American Red Cross, various locations

Hiway 80 Rescue Mission, 601 E. Valentine St.

St. Louis Baptist Church, 4000 Frankston Hwy.

Other locations are ready to serve if there is a demand, including:

Bethel Bible — Hope Campus, 504 W. 32nd St.

Day Spring UMC, 310 W. Cumberland Rd. (will accept pets if kenneled)

Grace Community Church, 3215 Old Jacksonville Hwy.

Green Acres Baptist Church, 1607 Troup Hwy.

Kingdom Church, 1818 N. Confederate Ave.

Shiloh Road Church of Christ, 1801 Shiloh Rd.

Marvin UMC, 300 W. Erwin St.