Because the Rev. Darryl Spence and Andre Robinson walked through downtown St. Paul’s skyways Wednesday, they handed out gloves and meat sticks to those in need.

Robinson tried to persuade two young men to take gloves, which had been donated and still had tags on them.

“You good, you good? Are you sure?” Robinson asked in a fast exchange. “Come on, man, your hands are gonna be freezing. You are taking a pair. If you happen to need something, you understand where I’m, right?”

Each are Ramsey County sheriff’s office community service officers, that are civilian employees, and so they’re plugged into the community. They know which individuals are homeless and so they aim to supply help “without embarrassing them, without putting them on the spot,” Spence said.

Through the recent cold snap, a network of St. Paul, Ramsey County and nonprofit staff have been working to get people into warm buildings for overnight stays, and to assist those remaining outside to remain secure.

St. Paul’s Homeless Assistance Response Team (HART) is tracking 120 people living in tents at 23 encampments; there have been 58 people at 33 encampments at the identical time last 12 months, based on Andrea Hinderaker, HART program coordinator. They’ve been coordinating with Ramsey County, which runs Winter Warming Spaces, to make sure they “have a warm, secure place to be throughout the coldest nights of the 12 months,” Hinderaker said.

The Listening House, which recently opened a brand new day shelter near downtown St. Paul, has recently been “at capability from the moment we open,” said Molly Jalma, executive director. Staff spends “the rest of the day helping folks work out their immediate plans for the upcoming overnight.”

“There are as many individual needs as there are people and we’ve yet to search out an answer that works for everybody, but I can assure you a lot of us are sleepless with concern and energy,” Jalma said. “… The cold creates a really real crisis. … Our foremost objectives shift quickly to helping people keep themselves alive, protect as many body parts from frostbite as possible, and help navigate systems to secure a warm and secure environment to sleep. It’s a brutal challenge and never the time to be precious with resources.”

Winter Warming Spaces

Ramsey County’s Winter Warming Spaces, which opened in November and are scheduled to shut at the top of March, are open from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and available for ladies on the Newell Park Constructing, on the Phalen Activity Center and Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities for men, and at Central Baptist Church for families and youth ages 14 to 24; all locations are in St. Paul. The county is running shuttles to get people to the warming spaces.

Because the county opened additional sites on Christmas Eve, there was a median of 40 people an evening at each site. Through the recent cold, between Friday and Tuesday, there have been a median of 55 people per night at each site, based on Ramsey County Deputy Director of Housing Stability Kimberly Cleminson.

Winter Warming Spaces are seeing a dramatic increase in people who find themselves 24 and younger, Hinderaker said.

“The positive side of this implies these youth are searching for options outside of survival means like selling themselves for an evening on a couch, or staying with an abusive partner simply to be warm for the night,” Hinderaker said. “The identical goes for a lot of our most vulnerable individuals on the road. The warming centers offer alternative — where selecting to remain alive doesn’t also should mean selecting to stay in an unsafe environment.”

Protected Space Shelter, for which service providers give referrals, has been operating at reduced capability since Friday due to a heating issue — the county has been transporting remaining people to Winter Warming Spaces each night since then, Cleminson said. Maintenance is anticipated to be accomplished Thursday.

There are also individuals who decide to not go to warming centers. That might be because they don’t wish to be separated from their romantic partner or pet, Hinderaker said. The HART team makes sure to get to encampments for safety checks, including educating people about fire safety and connecting them with resources for propane in the event that they report they need heat.

Handing out donated items

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher’s “Live to tell the tale Patrol” livestreams on Facebook and YouTube have regular watchers self-named “backseaters” and so they “consistently send us stuff to give you the option to pass out,” said Spence, who’s often called “The Rev” on “Live to tell the tale Patrol” (that’s his title because he’s also associate pastor at Recent Hope Baptist Church in St. Paul).

Spence was just awarded the Local Legend Award on Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast for his work in serving the community and youth.

“Backseaters” provide gloves, hats and jackets that community service officers and deputies pass out to those that are homeless.

“They literally were sewing hats,” Spence said of the “backseaters.” “I got a call this morning that a girl is already collecting an entire bunch of socks.”

Greater than 300 pairs of gloves were donated on the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center on Saturday night.

As Spence and Robinson — whose nickname is “Starwars” — passed out items Wednesday, a person working downtown told them a couple of family who recently arrived from Venezuela and who were seated at a table within the skyway. Robinson gave them gloves, and Spence handed out $30 in food gift cards donated by “backseaters,” together with meat sticks.

The meat sticks are made by Big Steer Meats in St. Paul, funded by the nonprofit Hunter’s Harvest.

“My father has been obsessed with honoring people who serve within the military,” said Amy Bohaty, whose father, Wealthy Bohaty, was the founder; she’s a Hunter’s Harvest board member. “To give you the option to serve homeless veterans and expand his beef stick program with the Ramsey County sheriff’s office to serve those in need makes our family very proud.”

The meat sticks handed out by the sheriff’s office provide individuals with protein and knowledge — the wrappers have a sticker that claims, “Searching for shelter?” and includes phone numbers for Catholic Charities Twin Cities.

Each pack is 6 ounces and comprises five meat sticks. They’ve given an estimated 400 packs to the sheriff’s office to this point, said Kurt Krummel, Big Steer Meats general manager.

Cold ahead, then warm-up

There are tables arrange on the sheriff’s office training annex within the skyway above 345 Cedar St., Press House Apartments in downtown St. Paul, where anyone in need can stop in to get clothes and warm-weather gear, though the office isn’t commonly staffed when the crew is out and about.

On Tuesday night, a 65-year-old homeless man got here into their office to select up some clothes. “He’s been on the market for very long time,” said sheriff’s office Sgt. John Scheller. “His feet were in pretty bad shape and he needed assistance taking off his boots, putting recent socks and boots on. We got him squared away with that.” And so they gave him a referral to Protected Space Shelter.

More cold weather is on the best way, but then warmer weather is within the forecast.

After Minnesota saw the warmest December on record, temperatures plunged to minus 8 degrees within the Twin Cities on Sunday and Monday, based on the National Weather Service. There have been wind chills as little as 30 below zero on Saturday night into early Sunday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said Eric Ahasic, a meteorologist on the NWS in Chanhassen.

One other surge of Arctic air is anticipated Thursday night into Friday, and Friday night into Saturday morning “goes to be one other really cold night” with temperatures starting from minus 5 to minus 10 within the metro area, Ahasic said.

A warm-up is anticipated to start Sunday and next week shall be “well-above-normal temperatures” — within the 30s and above freezing, based on Ahasic.

Methods to get help, how you can donate

People can call Ramsey County staff at 651-266-1050 from 9 p.m. to six:30 a.m. for help finding the closest warming space. More details could be found at ramseycounty.us/WarmingSpaces.

The Listening House welcomes donations of latest or used hats, gloves, hand warmers and coats to assist get through the winter. Men’s sizes and styles are preferred. People can schedule to drop off donations at listeninghouse.org/items/#schedule.

People can even drop off recent or gently used winter gear for distribution to the homeless on the Ramsey County sheriff’s office Law Enforcement Center, 425 Grove St. in St. Paul, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.