Homeless in Winter

Homeless people already have it rough, but they especially do in the winter. That’s where the Allegheny County Department of Human Services comes in to help. Rich Venezia, administrator of the Bureau of Hunger and Housing Services, says their emergency weather shelter located downtown is utilized between Nov. 15 and March 15. Venezia says the guidelines of when it is used are when it’s below 25 degrees, or when there is very windy, or unusually snowy weather. The number of people who go there fluctuates; there have been between 50 to 60 staying the last few nights, and last week, between 100 and 110 stayed during cold weather. Venezia says it’s a collaborative effort, with many different groups pitching in to help out.