While neighboring counties address a cold snap with warming centers, Galveston County has yet to provide such services, raising concerns amid regional efforts to protect vulnerable populations.
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As the Houston metro area's temperatures dropped on Monday, Galveston County was the only one that didn't open warming centers. Fort Bend and Harris counties, which are nearby, did. One person has already died in Houston because of the cold, METRO police said.
As a result, Fort Bend County opened an overnight warming center at Attack Poverty in Rosenberg. It was open from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. During the day, 12 libraries in Fort Bend County, including ones in Katy, Richmond, and Sugar Land, were open to offer comfort.
The Star of Hope Mission in Houston gave people in need a place to stay at its Men's Development Center on Ruiz Street and its Women & Family Development Center on Reed Road.
As of Monday afternoon, Galveston, Brazoria, and Montgomery counties still hadn't announced any warming centers, which meant that some people didn't know how to get out of the cold.
Galveston doesn't have any warming stations, which is strange since the area has a lot of problems with the weather. Community leaders have raised concerns about the lack of immediate resources during this cold snap. This is particularly true given that the area is close to the Gulf, which makes the cold air feel even worse.
With one death in Houston tied to the weather, the need for shelters across the region is still very high.
There is more and more pressure on Galveston's leaders to take steps to keep people safe in the cold weather.
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