(CBS DETROIT) — As we approach freezing temperatures, some local nonprofits are trying to get people off the streets and into the heat.

“Put your feet underneath there,” Stephanie Taylor said as she helped someone cover themselves with a blanket.

Taylor is Covenant House Michigan’s outreach manager. She travels around the area searching for people battling homelessness. 

“This weather will kill you, you can’t be out here trying to sleep in this weather,” Taylor told CBS News Detroit.

Covenant House typically helps young adults under 24, but as needs grow, it doesn’t turn away others who seek care.

“If you are out here and want to go to a warming center we will be out there to help you,” Taylor said.

Taylor likes to live by the motto ” Helping those who need it.” She knows the streets can be dangerous, and that motivates her to serve. 

She asked one unhoused woman, “You ready to come with me?” 

The woman responded, “No.”

While some aren’t as willing to get out of the cold others are. Stephanie introduced CBS News Detroit to a pregnant teen, she recently helped. The teen had been sleeping in Downtown Detroit at a bus stop.

“I felt scared, and I felt like, what if my body can’t take being in this cold? What if I hurt my child,” Shade Evans said.

According to Evans, she’s now in another facility with stable living conditions. It’s been a few weeks, but now, at seven months pregnant, she’s rebuilding her life.

“Like the only thing you can turn to is drugs or selling your body, or being owned…it feels like there’s no option for you,” she said.

Covenant House sees at least 15 people needing help per day, and those numbers can rise the colder it gets.

“So many struggle with mental health and substance abuse, and a lot of them do not have enough money for rent, and it’s really sad,” Taylor said.

According to the city of Detroit, over 6,000 people experienced homelessness in 2022. With blankets and snacks in tow, the outreach team looks to help

“We need more affordable housing for the young people but we also need to make sure they get good education and getting some training so they can really make a living,” Taylor said.

MILWAUKEE — It was an all-hands-on-deck effort Wednesday night at Milwaukee warming shelters. Temperatures are dropping to dangerously cold numbers.

“We work together, as a team,” Executive Director of Repairers of the Breach, Pastor James West said.

Staff and volunteers at Repairers of the Breach have the set-up down pat.

“We form an assembly line. We get to stack the bins up, we remove the chairs, and then we begin to lay in a format like that all the way across and that’s what we do for all three floors,” West explained.

West said they have been at capacity already this year.

“Now we’re getting at the temperatures Wisconsin can offer…it’s time to come on in,” he said.

Each person is greeted with a hot cup of coffee, donuts, dinner, and a shower. They’re also welcomed with a warm smile by staff.

“You’ll hear someone shout out, Thank God you saved our life…it is cold out there,” West said.

Repairers of the Breach is open from 7:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, and community resources. It opens back up at 7:00 p.m. for the emergency warming room.

Watch: Warming shelters work to get people off the streets

‘It’s time to come on in’: Warming shelters work to get people off the streets

It’s located at 1335 W. Vliet St.

The organization helps people six days a week. It thrives on donations and volunteers.

“We’ve been challenged with being able to keep water. Something that we all have to have just to live. The food, the cups, the plates,” West said.

If you want to donate items to Repairers of the Breach, you can drop them off at the front door.

You can also donate on the website.

Everyday items are also needed down the road at the St. Ben’s Winter Warming Center.

“We could use coffee, we could use all kinds of breakfast bars, and most importantly hats and gloves. Because once people leave here they have to find somewhere else to go throughout the day,” Assistant Director, Kenny Howard said.

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Howard with St. Ben’s said they’ve seen a lot of people come through their doors and this is only the beginning of what could be a very cold winter.

“We need the community to pray for us because we’re going to need all the prayers we can get to get through this,” Howard said.

You can help St. Ben’s by clicking here.

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MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis City Council members say they passed a budget that is responsive to its residents.

“Today we passed a budget that deeply reflects our values,” said council president Elliot Payne.

But the mayor says the budget is problematic and quickly vetoed it.

“It is reckless. It is irresponsible and it is bad for the city of Minneapolis,” said mayor Jacob Frey.

Frey says the $1.9 billion budget contains $6.5 million in additional spending, while taking money away from clearing and preventing homeless encampments, recruiting and retaining police officers and basic city services like filling potholes and plowing streets.

“This budget cuts needs and adds wants,” said Frey.

But city council members take issue with the mayor saying they prioritized what he calls “pet projects” by steering money to specific non-profits and neighborhood safety programs.

“It is not a pet project to be responsive to our constituents,” said council member  Aurin Chowdhury.

The mayor signed off on the city council’s lower 6.9 percent property tax increase as opposed to the 8.1 percent increase he initially called for. But city council members say by vetoing their budget, the mayor is playing politics.

“It is our job as the purse holders of the city to make sure that we are spending your dollars in a reasonable and effective way,” said council member Robin Wonsley.

The city council could vote as early as Thursday whether to override the mayor’s veto or leave it intact.