WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas – Shelters across Central Texas geared up for another cold night on Friday.

Local perspective:

At Georgetown’s San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Kristina Rodriguez, who had nowhere else to go this week, played with her pup Justice before another cold night began.

“Before this interview, Michelle [the shelter’s organizer] picked me up on the corner of the square, and I started crying,” said Rodriguez.

A bed and electricity make all the difference, especially with temperatures once again below freezing.

“You can focus on other things and not have to worry about those basic needs, and that is a release altogether,” said Rodriguez.

It’s people like her that drive Michelle Augustine to replace rows of church seats with cots.

“If we’re going to take care of pipes, pets, plants, let’s put people first, and what do we mean by people? All the people,” said Augustine.

By the numbers:

According to a 2024 homeless count, there are about 100 homeless people in Williamson County, with roughly 17 in Georgetown.

On Friday night, 23 people will stay at SGUU shelter until the weather improves this weekend.

“We’re going to watch the weather with the icy conditions, and so we will probably extend that departure time if the weather is not nice,” said Augustine. 

Austin reported more than 340 people in its warming centers Wednesday night.

The One Texas Center off Barton Springs and First Street will be open for Friday night’s bitter cold, too.

But unlike Austin, it’s the churches in Williamson County opening their doors to the homeless. 

“Our Methodist here in town, Presbyterian, Congregation Shalom, they help provide the volunteers to staff,” said Augustine. “Also, the meals, which is very helpful, or the snacks and whatnot, so we couldn’t do it alone, so I consider it a real interfaith collaboration.”

Even when the temperatures finally warm up, Augustine said her work is far from over. She started a new program for navigation services.

“Myself and about four other women are volunteering to work with folks to help them overcome those obstacles, navigate the systems, let’s get them off the street, let’s get them out of the library chairs, right?” said Augustine. “Let’s get them feeling like they’re contributing once again.”

Several cities in Williamson County, like Round Rock and Taylor, provide funding for nonprofit warming shelters, but they don’t operate one unless it is considered a larger-scale event.

What they’re saying:

FOX 7 Austin reached out to cities in Williamson County about the possibility of a shelter. Here are the responses we received.

Williamson County:

“Williamson County’s Office of Emergency Management is responsible for the preparedness and safety of people living in the unincorporated areas of Williamson County. Our cities have jurisdiction within their city limits.

We do not have the population density and unhoused residents in the unincorporated areas of the county, or in the smaller municipalities we serve, to necessitate warming centers. 

Our involvement in shelter planning focuses on providing evacuee sheltering for large numbers of our county residents in the event of a wildfire or storm.  We collaborate with our municipalities, the Red Cross, and other non-governmental organizations to pre-identify shelter locations for various large-scale disaster scenarios. However, the warming center activities for the unhoused in Williamson County are focused in and led by the larger municipalities where the unhoused are located.”

Round Rock

“We do not have any immediate plans to open a shelter for this event. Our Crisis Response Unit maintains ongoing communications with our vulnerable and unhoused population to connect them with existing resources, and they also maintain contact with our emergency management division. We will be monitoring our dispatch calls to see if there is a need for any sort of organized sheltering on a larger scale.”

However, Round Rock provided $30,000 this year to the Round Rock Area Serving Center’s housing assistance program. The city said the funding will be used for housing, emergency shelter needs and help families avoid eviction and homelessness. In the past, the city added it provided funding to the Williamson County Crisis Center/Hope Alliance for critical intervention services, including emergency sheltering.”

Georgetown:

“We recognize there are people who are without shelter in our community, and we were encouraged to see local churches and non-profit organizations stepping up to address that need last week. With respect to the City’s response to extended cold-weather events and other emergency situations, we’re constantly evaluating our roles and responsibilities.”

Cedar Park:

“Currently, Cedar Park does not have any homeless shelters. However, several regional organizations and nonprofits, such as the Christian Resource Center and Hope Alliance, are actively working within Cedar Park to provide assistance to those in need.”

The City of Taylor also provides funding to St. James Episcopal Church, which purchases hotels for people during cold weather events.