ATLANTA — If you've been wondering why fires under Cheshire Bridge Road keep happening, nonprofits say it's because the homeless population is desperately cold.
Tracy Thompson is the executive director of The Elizabeth Foundation, a nonprofit focused on helping the homeless community. She said warming shelters aren't always a quick fix.
"Cold weather is really tough on the homeless community," Thompson said.
Atlanta has been feeling enough of the bitter cold for the past week. Temperatures have been in the 30s overnight. In turn, the City of Atlanta announced it's opening up warming shelters.
"They're in the shelter to get warm, but they're released back into the cold with not enough to stay warm," Thompson said.
The city's Central Park Recreation Center, at 400 Merritts Ave., ends at 6 a.m. Throughout the week, temperatures have been as low as 29 degrees at seven in the morning.
Thompson asks, where do homeless citizens go next?
"It's really, really unfortunate that they can't stay open at least until eight or nine when a little more the sun opens -- sunshine comes up, starts warming up and businesses open where people can find other resources or day shelters -- ways to transfer rather than sitting in the cold, and hungry and cold," she said.
Thompson said when people are cold and hungry, they're going to do whatever they have to to survive, even setting dangerous fires.
"Oftentimes, the easiest thing to get your hands on is probably gasoline and accelerants or lighter fluid," Thompson added.
City officials said that rather than kicking people out on the street, there's transportation to places like The Gateway Center once warming shelters close. However, like other day centers, they're limited.
Thompson said her clients say, due to space, people in need can only bring one bag--putting all the rest of their items at risk of being stolen.
"There's not enough day shelters," Thompson said. "So, people go to libraries or they get on the MARTA train. And they go hang at the airport."
A city spokesperson shares this statement:
The warming centers are staffed by City of Atlanta employees, who must also report to work for their regular duties within a matter of hours…sometimes less.
There are also non-profit organizations who remain open during the day.
If Gateway doesn't help, Thompson suggests the Salvation Army or getting warm wherever you safely can.
"MARTA is an easy, accessible place to stay warm, to stay dry, and ride the train," Thompson said. "So, we see a lot of that. And I suggest people do it because that's all they've got."