AUSTIN, Texas — Austin officials say the city’s cold weather shelters served a record number of people over the weekend as temperatures dipped below 20 degrees.
“At our peak, we saw over 850 clients using our cold weather shelter operation, which is an all-time record for the City of Austin,” said David Gray, director of Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations.
The One Texas Center on Barton Springs Road served as the registration hub, with clients transported to seven shelters across the city — more than double the usual number of sites. The Central Texas Food Bank provided meals for thousands of shelter guests.
Not everyone survived the cold. Early Sunday, a person was found dead near a North Austin gas station, reportedly due to hypothermia.
Austin’s overnight shelters will remain open 24 hours daily until Wednesday morning. Registration occurs each evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.