After temperatures plunged in Tarrant County over the weekend, local municipalities, nonprofits and faith-based organizations are offering shelter from the cold and resources for people experiencing homelessness.
True Worth Place, located off East Lancaster Avenue, is open every day from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offers resources ranging from restrooms, laundry facilities and temporary storage to telephone and computer access. Those in need of overnight accommodations should look to Presbyterian Night Shelter for a place to stay the night.
The shelter has 100 overnight beds for men and 40 for women. When temperatures drop in Fort Worth, the demand for beds rises, said Chief Executive Officer Toby Owen. Presbyterian Night Shelter is one of the city of Fort Worth’s emergency partners, in addition to Union Gospel Mission and The Salvation Army.
Presbyterian Night Shelter surpassed capacity Jan. 5, sheltering 120 men and 54 women in need of a warm place to sleep, Owen said. During extreme weather conditions, the facility is allowed to offer overflow accommodation. The shelter coordinates with the city to address the influx of people in need, he added.
“I’m sure that there’ll be more people seeking shelter. But we are over capacity, and we have maxed out all of our beds and all of our cold weather beds, so we will rely on the overflow shelter that will be opened by the city,” Owen said.
2400 Cypress St., Fort Worth
Sign ups for sleeping spots begin at 2 p.m. Doors open at 3 p.m. Checkout is 7 a.m.
1513 E. Presidio St., Fort Worth
Available from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
City coordinates three shelters, overflow beds for homeless
Bethany Warner, the intergovernmental relations manager in Fort Worth’s city manager’s office, said via email that the city’s overflow emergency sheltering program, which operates from October through March, triggers shelter sites dependent on cold weather conditions. The city prepares emergency overflow shelters when the temperature reaches 40 degrees in wet conditions, 35 degrees in dry conditions, or when the wind child falls below 32 degrees for three or more consecutive hours.
As of Jan. 6, the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures peaking in the 30s until Jan. 11, when the temperature is expected to climb back to the lower 40s. There is a 40% chance of snow showers Wednesday night and into Thursday, with a chance of “moderate snow accumulation.”
Individuals seeking shelter in Fort Worth are encouraged to report to the city’s three existing emergency shelters: Union Gospel Mission, Presbyterian Night Shelter or The Salvation Army Mabee Center. If those shelters are full, individuals will be redirected to the Flag Building on East Lancaster Avenue to be transported to an overflow shelter location, Warner said.
She added that the city is working to direct those experiencing homelessness to overflow shelters through street outreach teams, shelter workers, physical signage and other “direct communications.” People may also call the city’s nonemergency 311 line or 817-392-1234 and press 9 for information on city overflow shelters.
The U.S. saw an 18% increase in homelessness in 2024, according to a December estimate from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tarrant County was one of the few communities that saw a decrease in homelessness, said Lauren King, executive director of Partnership Home, formerly known as the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition.
“We were one of the communities who saw a decrease, and we attribute that to a number of different things. But kind of the bottom line for us is that we had additional housing resources and could help about 400 additional households last year,” King said.
Partnership Home will have its annual Point in Time homelessness count on Jan. 23, King said. The annual event, which attracted 450 volunteers in 2024, is a federally required record of all people experiencing homelessness that must be conducted within the last 10 days of January. In Texas, it’s done annually on the same date.
Karen Stuhmer, spokesperson for Fort Worth’s park and recreation department, said via email that residents are welcome to seek shelter at any community center in the city. All centers are expected to be open during regular business hours, and three centers have already been identified as overflow overnight shelter sites. She said the city does not publicize the names of the overflow shelter sites so as to prevent “confusion or risk if someone in need of shelter arrives at a center that hasn’t been activated.”
The park and recreation department closely communicates with the city’s Emergency Operations Center, Stuhmer said, and the department is prepared to open any community center as an emergency shelter in response to events such as apartment fires or widespread power outages. The Emergency Operations Center has not made such a request as of Jan. 6, she said.
“As always, (park and recreation) is monitoring the weather closely and will adjust operations as needed to ensure the safety of residents,” Stuhmer said. “In the event of icy roads or other hazardous conditions, residents are encouraged to call their local community center before traveling to confirm it is open.”
Regina Calderon, digital media manager for Tarrant County, said the county has not organized any emergency shelters, as that task is typically organized at the city level. However, she said, Tarrant County individuals may call the county’s nonemergency hotline 211 to be connected with shelter resources.
Faith-based groups rally to offer overnight shelter
Room in the Inn is a hospitality coalition made up of Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and other Christian churches in Fort Worth to provide overnight shelter to people experiencing homelessness during the hottest and coldest months of the year.
The Fort Worth coalition coordinates with True Worth Place, a day shelter and resource center owned by Presbyterian Night Shelter, where people are prescreened and register to participate in the program.
“We know that it is not safe for an individual to be sleeping outside, and particularly in weather such as this,” said Mike Tyson, former president for Room in the Inn. “But the main reason we do this is to provide hospitality (and) to let individuals know that they are valued.”
How to help
If you are interested in setting up meals, cleaning or providing transportation, fill out the contact form located on the Room in the Inn website.
If there is a specific congregation that you would like to volunteer at or make a donation, contact information for all the host congregations can also be found on the Room in the Inn website.
Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County is opening up 50 beds in its main campus and 60 beds in its building across the street at 1350 E. Lancaster Ave., said CEO Charles Wolford.
When We Love, another faith-based nonprofit at 1100 E. Lancaster Ave. allows people to check in and be referred to shelters like Union Gospel Mission.
The organization filled 17 beds Sunday night, and Wolford anticipates numbers to increase throughout the week, he said.
“We hope everybody, every provider, every neighbor, uses the same plan, so that we’re all sharing the same information, and that’s what’s important,” Wolford said. “We all want to share the same messaging so that we don’t have any lone rangers.”
Where to seek shelter in Arlington
The Salvation Army hosts two overnight warming shelters in Tarrant County — one at the Arlington Corps Community Center, the other at Fort Worth’s J.E. & L.E. Mabee Social Service Center.
Martha Lewis, a staff member at the Arlington Corps Community Center, said the Arlington shelter is equipped to hold between 50 and 70 people, but demand varies by year.
In previous years’ cold fronts, Lewis has seen upward of 40 people take shelter in the location. This year on the night of Jan. 5, the shelter housed about 12 people, she said.
J.E. & L.E. Mabee Social Service Center
1855 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth
Open when temperatures reach 40 degrees with wet conditions, 35 degrees in dry conditions or when there’s a wind chill below 32.
Arlington Corps Community Center
712 W. Abram St., Arlington
Open when temperatures are below 40 degrees for four consecutive hours overnight.
The Arlington Life Shelter, an organization providing aid to homeless residents, activated its warming shelter through at least Jan. 18, provided freezing temperatures continue. The Arlington Life Shelter starts taking in people at 2 p.m. and stops at 5 p.m. It caps out at 10 people.
Additional guests are referred to The Salvation Army’s Arlington Corps Community Center, which the Arlington Life Shelter works “hand in hand with,” said Stephanie Melchert, CEO of the Arlington Life Shelter.
Melchert said guests are allowed to stay until 9 a.m. and are given dinner and breakfast. The shelter then points them to find warmth in the public libraries.
325 W. Division St., Arlington
Open when temperatures are below 40 degrees for four consecutive hours overnight.
To receive text alerts about Arlington cold weather shelters, text ARLCOLD to 877-799-4950.
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen.
Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.