Emergency shelter may open as cold air pushes in

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Homeless shelters in Charlotte vowed to make extra room for people Monday night due to the frigid temperatures.

With the threat of snow, city leaders may open an emergency shelter later this week. They held a conference call to discuss the possibility Monday morning.

Earlier this month, Channel 9 reported that county officials use loose guidelines to determine whether to open warming shelters. Those include a sustained wind chill factor of 10 degrees for a full day and adequate space in shelters. Commissioner Pat Cotham is pushing for a change.

"We've got other cities do 32 degrees. We have people saying, ‘Take your animals in at 32 (degrees)’ but all those people can stay out until 10 for 24 hours? Seemed a bit harsh,” she said.

County commissioners will talk about that emergency shelter policy at their Wednesday meeting.

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Cox Media Group