County explores a hot-weather safety net

Public and private organizers join to strengthen support for unhoused people at risk from extreme temperatures.

Community leaders are working on a plan to provide emergency services to vulnerable people in Palm Beach County during extreme temperatures, a shelter system similar to the protocol used when hurricanes approach. 

The plan would take effect during cold and extremely hot weather. It would direct when shelters would open, transportation of people to shelters and a public communication system. It’s a community issue that will take coordination of public and private organizations’ assets to solve, Ezra Krieg, a board member of the Homeless and Housing Alliance, said. 

The alliance and Faith in Action cohosted the Weather Action Response Mission Conference on Palm Beach State College’s Lake Worth campus in June. Sponsored by PBSC, the Homeless Coalition, the Salvation Army and Palm Beach County Community Services, the meeting brought together community leaders, government agencies, faith-based organizations, emergency management professionals and local advocates to discuss strategies.

Krieg called the meeting “step one of an arduous process of getting this up and running.” 

But because the county government doesn’t have a mandate to provide protection for unhoused people from extreme temperatures, it’s unknown how helpful it can be, he said. Raising awareness and gaining community support is critical, he said.

The county’s 2025 Point-in-Time Count recorded 1,520 people experiencing homelessness 

County Commissioner Joel Flores, who helped kick off the meeting, called attention to the issue in January, when cold weather tested the system. “I don’t know why the shelters aren’t open,” Flores said at the time. 

It was cold but not cold enough. When the Salvation Army shelter did open, organizers expected 50 people. More than 100 showed up. 

Flores asked that the county change the temperature threshold for when cold weather shelters may open, and county commissioners agreed. 

“Beginning this cold weather season, shelters may open when temperatures are forecast to remain at or below 43 degrees for four consecutive hours, rather than 40 degrees. This change will allow us to act sooner, before dangerous conditions become life-threatening,” Flores wrote in an email to Stet News.

The county’s emergency services and partners have long opened shelters during cold weather. Now, advocates say that a key need is a cooling-center network to protect vulnerable people.

A report from the meeting recommends creating seven to 10 cooling stations at fire stations and Palm Tran locations. 

Audrey Ades, a member of Faith in Action, said that Armen Gregorian, the operations manager at Palm Beach County’s Division of Emergency Management, encouraged advocates at the meeting to secure more assistance from the faith-based community.

But there’s a liability risk in churches, synagogues and mosques opening their doors without legal protection from the government.

The meeting organizers are advocating for liability protections for faith-based shelters and centers.

Ades is optimistic the members can complete a plan by this winter. “If not a ‘forever plan,’ we can coordinate some kind of plan. People are very committed, and they’re showing up. It feels like being part of a really good team.”