Two local transportation agencies are helping homeless people during the cold spell.
John DeTaeye works for Humility Homes and Services in Davenport as its Director of Development.
This week, he started worrying about people who might have to walk from the 70-bed shelter on 5th Avenue to the Kings Harvest Emergency Overflow Shelter, four to five blocks away on 3rd Avenue.
Then, River Bend Transit and Scott County Community Services offered to give people rides.
Humility Homes also offers a place for people to stay warm during the day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Christian Care in Rock Island offers the same service, from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. And it serves three meals per day.
Last night, 54 people stayed overnight at Humility Homes' shelter, while 43 stayed at Kings Harvest. And in Rock Island, Christian Care served lunch to 36 people, after 27 stayed overnight.
In November, the Quad Cities Housing Cluster announced Humility needed money to open the emergency overflow shelter for the winter. Several groups and businesses began giving, and more donors followed suit. DeTaeye says they reached the goal of $70,000, and Humility Homes was able to hire employees to manage it.
