Shelter From the Cold

With temperatures expecting to drop into the 30s Thursday and Friday nights, Lifeworks, a nonprofit dedicated to serving runaway and homeless youth in Central Texas, is working with the Congregational Church of Austin to set up and provide temporary shelter from the cold.

For homeless youth, the plummeting temperature makes for more than just an unpleasant evening. These conditions will “threaten both their safety and health,” said Lifeworks in an outreach email. They estimate that approximately 50 youth who are currently sleeping on Austin streets will find shelter at their temporary outpost over the new few days.

Unfortunately, severe budget cuts have eliminated the funds Lifeworks relied upon for staffing cold weather shelters. Lifeworks is asking the community to donate what they can to “underwrite pizza and staffing for Thursday and Friday nights,” according to the email. A total of $750 is needed. Any additional donations they receive will be put toward a fund for future cold nights.

Monetary donations can be made on their website, and for their additional donation requests please see our annual holiday Wish List online, and in this week’s issue on page 26.

A follow-up email confirmed that Lifeworks found a donor who will match "up to $1,000 to help us build a fund for future cold weather shelters."