These Birmingham Groups Helped Keep the Homeless Safe on a Frigid MLK Day

Food For Our Journey was busy on Monday passing out food, jackets and telling people about the city’s warming station for the unhoused. (CBS42)

BY AMY HYBELS | WIAT

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not a day off for those helping the unsheltered and food insecure especially in subfreezing temperatures.

“We definitely need hand warmers,” said Christine Golab, the Assistant Executive Director of Food for our Journey. “I mean we cannot have enough of these, we give out so many of these every single day. They also need gloves.

The non-profit ministry was busy on Monday passing out food, jackets and telling people about the city’s warming station for the unhoused and those who lack sufficient heat in their homes. On Monday, the Alpha Phi Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in Birmingham organized a coat giveaway, CBS 42 caught up with them while they were also passing out gloves and hats in a parking lot off of 3rd Avenue North to try and help people stay warm.

“It’s very important to do it on MLK Junior Day of Service, this is a day where we give back,” noted Art Franklin, Basileus of the Alpha Phi Chapter. “This was our opportunity to show that we care about the unsheltered, we care about this community.”

“It’s not about the money, I just would like you know someone to just show that they at least care,” said Antoinette Davis, who got a new coat and after we made some calls, a ride from BPD to the warming station on Cooper Hill Road.

When we ran into Davis, who needed a ride to the warming station, CBS 42 tried calling Urban Alchemy, which just landed a contract with the city to help the homeless, but found out their Birmingham team is off today. CBS 42 ended up calling 911 to secure Davis a ride Monday afternoon after being put on hold when we tried calling the city’s 311 number.

“This is dangerously cold,” said Demetrius Vines, the Director of Jessie’s Place with the Jimmie Hale Mission. “If you’re out here long enough you can get hypothermia.”

The city’s warming shelter, which is open through midday on Wednesday, does provide a free shuttle ride from 6-7 p.m. from the main entrance of Linn Park at the intersection of Park Place and 20th Street North in Birmingham.  For more information on the warming station, click here.

For more information on Food for Our Journey, click here. And for information on the Jimmie Hale Mission, click here.