In frigid heartland, an outpouring of warmth
Four shirts under a leather jacket has been enough to keep Vernell Jones, a young Chicago man, warm through most of the winter – but not this week.
As Mr. Jones sits slumped in a chair at the Pacific Garden Mission, a homeless shelter in Chicago’s South Loop, he says the frigid weather finally forced him inside. He spent Tuesday night stretched out on the floor of a police station as temperatures in Chicago sank to near-record lows.
“I couldn’t sleep outside,” he says. “It was too cold.”
In the morning a Catholic Charities van brought him here, where he hopes not only to stay warm but “to get back on my feet as well.”
As bitter cold descends on the upper Midwest – rendering some areas colder than the North Slope of Alaska – attention has turned to the region’s most vulnerable populations. Across the Midwest,
An ‘extreme’ situationRelief on the streetAn enduring problemAn outpouring of aidYou’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
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