We stand with our clients when
life threateningly cold weather comes.
We help them as we are able and encourage them
as they figure out what to do.What is Cold Weather Response? What is a Cold Weather Partner? It is time to prepare for the 2011-2012 season of Cold Weather Response. This is a time when we stand with our clients during life threatening cold weather by providing food, clothing, supplies, guidance, prayers and encouragement. Last year there were 19 cold weather nights. (See what we did in 2010-2011 and 2009-2010.)
We will be enlisting Cold Weather Partners (one for each night of our Cold Weather Response) to assist with collecting supplies, storing supplies until needed, and helping to distribute items for our Cold Weather Response. A Cold Weather Partner can be a church group, a collection of small groups, a large office group, or a group of families. Everyone differs in terms of ability to contribute time, funds, and material, but we recommend a group size of about 30 to be a Cold Weather Partner so that many hands will make light work. Thrift store prices for the full list of inventory comes to approximately $780 so a group size of 30 also make sureg this is not financially burdensome for most. We also have a sign-up sheet for individuals who are willing to coordinate by email to serve together as a Cold Weather Partner.
What Does a Cold Weather Partner Do?A Cold Weather Partner, composed of about 30 people, will collect items needed from friends, neighbors and their church members for one night of our Cold Weather Response, and will hold the items until our Cold Weather Response is activated. When your group comes up first on the list, the team is responsible for supplying a written inventory of available supplies and transporting the items to SYM for use on the designated night (we will communicate with you ahead of time to work out the details). Staging is typically done during the morning or day. Partners are asked to provide three to four people to help our staff with distribution in our West Campus (near UT and Guadalupe) service area, typically in the late afternoon or evening, but times vary by day of the week in order to best serve our clients. At the end of the distribution, volunteers will help organize and count leftover supplies being left with SYM so we can pass the information on to our next partners on the list. This can help us to make adjustments in quantities, if needed. After that, the partner's Cold Weather Activity is finished, although they are welcome to continue volunteering with SYM or to sign-up for a second spot. If SYM or a partner experiences a supply shortage (as can be the case for the first cold weather snap or for prolonged severe cold weather), we will contact partners who are further down on the list to see if they can contribute any items. What Do Street Youth and Volunteers Say About Cold Weather Response?One young lady showed up in a terrible mood. Her car that she planned to spend the night in had been towed. All her stuff was gone. Her dogs were in the pound. We were able to outfit her completely. She said, "I came all defeated. I didn't know what I was going to do. Now I say, 'Come on, cold weather! I'm ready! Thank you so much!'"
"One young man showed up to our truck on the coldest night in shorts. He had just come into town completely unprepared for the weather. We were able to outfit him and make him aware of his options. While this was going on, another young man asked for a Bible to keep himself occupied in the evening as he would be sleeping in a truck with his aunt and uncle. I'm so glad we could be present for these people!"
"You come out at the worst of times like these to offer us food, clothing, sleeping bags, and encouragement. Thank you so much for all you do. You are Christians not out to serve yourselves but instead to help us. That means something special."
What will be needed each cold weather night? Below is a list of items desired for each Cold Weather Response night and throughout the winter. If you plan to donate a few of these items for use outside of Cold Weather Response nights, please use our donation form. We also accept online financial donations for our Cold Weather Response.- Sleeping bags (8)
- Blankets (15)
- Adult sized warm tops (sweaters, sweat-shirts, hoodies) (20)
- Adult sized bottoms (jeans, long underwear, sweat pants, running pants) (15)
- Adult-sized socks (24 pair)
- Adult-sized coats (15)
- Hats (15)
- Gloves (20)
- Hot Chocolate / tea / instant coffee, thick paper cups, spoons (30 servings). [We'll supply hot water.]
- High calorie snacks (chocolate, energy bars, protein bars, peanut butter jars) (60 servings)
- Sandwiches (20 servings, hearty)
- AT&T GO Phone or T-Mobile pre-paid minutes (30 minutes)
- 24 hours bus passes (10)
When or Where Do We Meet SYM For Cold Weather Response?SYM will declare a Cold Weather Response if the forecasted low for the Austin downtown area is expected to be below 32 for dry weather or below 37 for wet weather. We go by the weather information available at (512)305-ICEE.
SYM varies the time of Cold Weather Responses depending on the day of week to better serve our clients. We will communicate final times as soon as we finalize them. Generally these are the best times: Monday at 3:45, Tuesday at 5:00, Wednesday at 3:45, Thursday at 5:00, Friday at 4:00. Saturday at 4:00. Sunday at 4:00. Meeting point will vary but will be in our service area of West Campus, on Guadalupe or San Antonio Streets, between 19th and 26th Streets.
Some groups choose to stage supplies in a pick-up truck of a member and bring the supplies to our Cold Weather Response. This works great! Others and choose to transfer supplies to us during the day in advance of the event. Typically will make the transfer at our Burnet Road Storage facility. Staging times cannot interfere with other SYM events on our calendar, however. Suggested staging times vary by day of the week: Monday 9am or 1pm .Tuesday 9am. Wednesday 1pm. Thursday 9am. Friday 11am or 1pm.
What Happens During the Cold Weather Response? SYM will meet partners at the designated location and lead volunteers to serve hot chocolate and food first and then help clients find clothing and gear that they might need. SYM will provide weather forecast information to help the youth make choices about what to do for the evening. SYM will encourage them to find resources to stay indoors, allowing access to our ministry phone and giving bus passes where appropriate. We help educate the youth as to the city's cold weather shelter options, which are different than the usual shelter options. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed at the city shelters. Additional help is often available from the city. Partners and street youth can call 305-ICEE to learn the low temperature and any special help available for cold weather. Sign-up ListWe will post a sign-up list here when we are ready to begin the 2012-2013 Cold Weather Response season sign-up. Our 2011-2012 partners were:
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