SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Freezing to death is a real possibility for those who no home to go to when the temperatures go below zero. Sunday night the low in Salt Lake was near negative five degrees.
“I know guys that are camping out tonight,” said one Salt Lake Rescue Mission guest.
The Rescue Mission of Salt Lake has 56 beds; after those are full they use the chapel floor for the overflow.
House Manager Don Hill tells ABC 4 News, “We don’t like to turn anybody away so we don’t, we just don’t turn them away, especially on a night like tonight.”
On their business night 80 men have slept on the chapel floor, but Hill says when it’s this cold, there’s always room for more.
“If we hit 80 and there’s another person at the door, I’m going to say scoot over,” said hill. “I’m not going turn them away.”
Hill knows what it’s like. He spent 18 months on the street and remembers what he had to do to stay warm.
“I found some ply boards and made a little dog house out of them and then I’d crawl inside that and use a sleeping bad that was good to 60 below,” said Hill.
Living through those below zero nights, Hill knows how real the danger is and does everything he can to make sure everyone has a warm place to sleep.
“Knowing the situations I’ve been in it’s really hard for me to turn anybody away,” said Hill.
