The County of Union’s Human Services Department has issued a Countywide Code Blue alert from today until Sunday evening in an effort to get the homeless population into shelter, as overnight temperatures are expected to plunge either below or around freezing over the next few days.
The alert goes out from the county’s Department of Human Services, which notifies emergency shelters, social service workers, community organizations, and the County Police. The County Police get the word out to law enforcement personnel in all 21 municipalities. The early warning gives communities time to identify and locate people potentially in need of help. Shelters get time to arrange for extra beds using cots provided by the County. County and municipal police go on the lookout for persons needing shelter, and assist them with transportation.
If residents see a homeless person sleeping in these conditions at night, they are urged to contact their local police department to get them to shelter.