The first real cold snap of the winter has arrived, and that means a spike in visitors at homeless shelters.
The Boccardo Regional Reception Center in San Jose is handling the surge in clients. The shelter can hold about 250 people overnight, and operators have not had to turn anyone away.
But there are hundreds of people living on the streets of San Jose and in encampments, including at what the homeless call The Village. The homeless encampment sprang up after people living in the The Jungle were forced to leave.
With temperatures expected to drop into the 30s tonight , the Boccardo Center is bracing for long lines.
"We've had to reassign some of our year-round program beds to cold-weather, but that's been OK because those beds have not been full, so that's been how our staff has been able to keep from turning people away," Homefirst spokeswoman Claire Wagner said.
She said the largest cold-weather armory is in Gilroy, and it can hold 100 people. But the National Guard recently authorized it to hold even more people during this cold weather, since the cold is a very serious health threat.
During this time last year, four homeless people died from hypothermia during a week-long cold snap.
