Nashville announces cold weather plan for homeless community

November 8, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. | Updated November 8, 2019 at 10:51 a.m.

by Associated Press

In this Feb. 19, 2015 photo, Larry Lawrence, left, who slept on the street the night before, works at a computer at the Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tenn. As cuts to social services and mental health programs continue to drive the homeless and disadvantaged to use libraries as day shelters, some libraries are beginning to view services for that population as an important part of their mission. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
In this Feb. 19, 2015 photo, Larry Lawrence, left, who slept on the street the night before, works at a computer at the Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Tenn. As cuts to social services and mental health programs continue to drive the homeless and disadvantaged to use libraries as day shelters, some libraries are beginning to view services for that population as an important part of their mission. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Nashville's mayor has released an emergency cold weather plan for sheltering the city's homeless community, weeks after reversing a decision to close the winter overflow facilities.

In a plan obtained by news outlets Thursday, Mayor John Cooper announced the overflow shelter will be located in a vacant Davidson County Sheriff's dormitory that accommodates 150 people. The plan will be initiated when the National Weather Service records temperatures below 29 degrees and when other shelters hit capacity.

Sheriff's spokesman Mark Preville said the facility once housed inmates on work release programs. News outlets report the location was chosen because it includes kitchens, showers and laundry access.

Last month, Cooper announced the city would fund emergency shelters this winter, reversing a previous decision to close them citing a lack of resources.

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