HOUSTON \u2013 As extreme cold temperatures move into Houston this weekend, local organizations are racing against the clock to protect some of the city\u2019s most vulnerable residents: people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n
Volunteers gathered Thursday at Houston City Hall to sort and load blankets, warm clothing, water, and thermal gear before heading out to distribute supplies to people living on the streets across the city.<\/p>\n
Organizers say the effort is urgent and personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some people, this is not charity. This is survival,\u201d said Ivan Sanchez, director of Together 4 Texas.<\/p>\n
Among the volunteers is Anthony Sanchez, who says he knows firsthand what it\u2019s like to be homeless.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was homeless at a young age,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cMy mom passed away when I was seven years old. My dad was on the streets. I know what it feels like to live in abandoned houses and apartment complexes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez says those experiences drive him to volunteer year after year, especially during extreme weather.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re human beings just like me,\u201d said Sanchez. \u201cAnd they\u2019re actually very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says many people experiencing homelessness avoid shelters due to mental health struggles or fear \u2014 leaving them exposed to freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them are scared to go into shelters,\u201d Anthony Sanchez explained. \u201cSo we want to give them blankets, give them what we can, so they don\u2019t freeze to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Together for Texas says the emergency outreach will help approximately 200 homeless individuals, with volunteers delivering supplies directly to areas where unsheltered populations are known to gather.<\/p>\n
Ivan Sanchez says not everyone will choose to go to warming centers, which is why street-level outreach is critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to stay warm even if they decide not to go into a warming center,\u201d said Ivan Sanchez.<\/p>\n
In addition to the outreach effort, there is a public donation drop-off site at Bayland Community Center, where residents can bring warm clothing and supplies.<\/p>\n
The site will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., accepting:<\/p>\n
Blankets<\/p>\n
Coats and jackets<\/p>\n
Gloves, hats, and thermal gear<\/p>\n
Bottled water<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is someone\u2019s kid,\u201d Ivan Sanchez said. \u201cThat is someone\u2019s father, mother, aunt. They get cold just like us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Organizers urge Houstonians to donate what they can as temperatures plunge this weekend.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 As extreme cold temperatures move into Houston this weekend, local organizations are racing against the clock…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[6540,56,58,57,23501],"class_list":{"0":"post-134642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-homeless","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-headlines","11":"tag-houston-news","12":"tag-volunteers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}