Local advocacy groups help prep homeless community for winter weather

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Monday's temperature drop had local homeless advocacy groups working harder to make sure everyone was taken care of.

Those with Exit 0 in southern Indiana loaded up their truck and stopped by a homeless camp in Jeffersonville to hand out coffee, soup and gloves to about a dozen people.

There are several homeless camps throughout southern Indiana. Exit 0 said it prepares well in advance for the first major cold snap of the year.

"We have been doing this for the last month now," Exit 0 Director Paul Stensrud said. "Gearing up for our clientele that we work with regularly. The blankets, the sleeping bags ... we have actually distributed over 70 just in Indiana alone."

Exit 0 also drives the homeless to shelters if they choose to go.

Fed with Faith canvassed the Louisville area Monday as well, handing out food to those in need. Volunteers made several stops throughout downtown handing out food, mini-heaters, jackets and gloves.

The cold weather is something the organization said it prepares for but not always this early.

"Because it got cold so quickly, people are not going to understand or be ready for it to dip so quickly in the morning, and so that is why we are making sure they are geared up tonight so that when it does hit 23 degrees, we will be out again tomorrow night," said Wendy Manganaro with Fed with Faith. "Because then it will stay that way."

Fed with Faith said it feeds more than 300 people each Sunday, a number that is expected to go up as the temperatures drop.

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