LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While many people stayed inside Friday with temperatures over 100 degrees, several community groups knew they had to be out there helping houseless Louisvillians.
"Our perception of just seeing someone sitting there who is houseless or just bumming, or whatever it may be. You know, you don't understand the backdrop," Ronnie "Pony" Morris said, who is a member of Vocal KY.
Morris was houseless himself on these streets for five years. That means he knows many of the people downtown, and can understand them better.
"It's lived experience," he said.
Morris was buying people water, he was also taking names and phone numbers to stay in contact with people. If anyone needed food or water, he told them to head to the 16th floor of the Heyburn building where Vocal has its office.
Two Louisville shelters are under "operation white flag" this week. That means they can go beyond the city-regulated max occupancy, and also they have to allow people to stay longer than they normally would.
"It's just as life-endangering for them to be out in this heat, as it is in the winter months," Nina Moseley said, chief operating officer for Wayside Christian Mission.
Wayside has a Good Samaritan Van that goes out and finds people in need of help, and offers to take them to the shelter.
There were people electing to stay outside just 50 yards from Wayside. Mosely says some of them don't want to follow the shelter rules which include not drinking or using drugs.
"We will have over 600 people under-roof tonight, so that's a lot of people," Moseley said. "But there are still people in the camps, on the streets who refuse to come in, which is kind of heartbreaking. Even if they don't want to stay, we're open to them coming in for a shower and hot meal."
The other shelter under operation white flag is the Salvation Army on Breckenridge Street. The white flag will stay up while the heat index is 95 degrees or higher.
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