Four people have died from cold-related causes in the last three months in Milwaukee County, according to the medical examiner’s office, as homeless shelters and others brace for a weekend of brutal below-zero temperatures.
Temperatures are expected to be between 15 to 25 below zero with windchill from Sunday to Wednesday, raising concerns for advocates for people without housing and those who must find ways to stay warm.
“People go wherever they can to stay warm,” said Darlene Roots, who has lived in a tent in an encampment near King Park for roughly the last year, after being evicted from her apartment.
Roots has a homeless shelter to stay at during the upcoming cold, beginning at 7 p.m., but must be elsewhere in the afternoon, she said. During that time, she’ll find ways to stay warm back at her tent.
Roots intends to use hand warmers, blankets and potentially burn hand sanitizer to keep warm, she said.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said four people have died from hypothermia or complications from hypothermia so far this winter.
An 82-year-old man was found dead in his home by police with temperatures between 26 to 50 degrees in late November. The home’s thermostat and many light switches were not working, according to medical examiner reports.
Three others, who were all homeless, died in December, including a 69-year-old found dead outdoors in a chair behind a business on Dec. 2, when temperatures ranged between 14 to 32 degrees.
Eleven days later, a 64-year-old woman was found outside on a sidewalk unresponsive and later died at the hospital. Temperatures ranged between 4 to 32 degrees that day, according to National Weather Service records.
That same day, a Milwaukee firefighter found a 56-year-old man dead in a vacant house.
“It’s a profound grief, especially under circumstances like that,” said Pat Vanderburgh, president at Milwaukee Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter. “First thought that people have is, ‘That didn’t have to happen.’”
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission operates an overflow shelter for men and another for single women or single women with children.
“If we’re at capacity, we will try to make room,” Vanderburgh said.
As the executive director of the homelessness organization Repairers of the Breach, James West has seen the daily struggles of people who experience homelessness: cold weather, limited shelter resources, among others.
Although there are resources for people experiencing homelessness, West said there should always be improvements, and community support is essential.
“It’s horrible,” he said of people dying in the cold. “The only way we can continue to do this is if the community decides to take care of the community.”
The Milwaukee Health Department advises people looking for shelter to call 211 or visit the website www.impactinc.org/impact-211/.
Where are the warming shelters in Milwaukee?
Here’s where you can find the warming centers in Milwaukee. Note that some centers are only open to certain groups, such as single men or single women.
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Guest House of Milwaukee, at 1216 N. 13th St. Open to single men.
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Unity Lutheran Church, at 1025 E. Oklahoma Ave. Open to singles and families.
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Tippecanoe Church, at 125 W. Saveland Ave. Does not accept walk-ins.
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Repairers of the Breach, at 1335 W. Vliet St. Open to singles.
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Milwaukee Rescue Mission Joy House, at 830 N. 19th St. Open to single woman and families.
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Milwaukee Rescue Mission Safe Harbor, at 830 N. 19th St. Open to single men after 10 p.m
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St. Benedict the Moor Parish, at 930 W. State St. Open to singles.
Eva Wen is a reporter at the Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at qwen@gannett.com
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 4 dead from cold weather in Milwaukee County since November