As Dallas residents grappled with the cold, they extended a helping hand to their neighbors. Mark Melton, a local attorney, got a call from City Council member Paula Blackmon and Carrie Prysock, the director of the Mayor and City Council Office, saying they needed help sourcing bottled water and food for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
On Friday, the city partnered with the local nonprofit ministry OurCalling and prepared the convention center to house the city’s homeless throughout the harsh weather. On Monday, it also opened as warming center to the general public.
Melton stopped by the convention center on Tuesday “just because I wanted to see what it looked like before we just randomly started sending people down there,” he said.
When he went to the warming center Tuesday, there were tables and chairs, water and light snacks, but no cots like those provided for the homeless. This didn’t strike him as very comfortable or welcoming, especially to those with families, so Tuesday night, he arranged cots for the warming center.