Donna residents take advantage of city's warming shelter
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Warming centers are now open across the Rio Grande Valley.
Some Donna residents took advantage of the city's warming shelter on Monday night. The Donna Recreation Center has cots and blankets available for anyone needing to get out of the frigid weather.
One mother and her three children were grateful to have a warm place to sleep, especially 9-year-old Evelyn Rodriguez.
"We came because our house is really old, and it's cold, so we wanted to come and be warm," Evelyn said.
Evelyn along with her two siblings and their mom are spent the night at the center turned warming shelter.
"I'm happy that we can be here right now and be warm instead of being cold," Evelyn said.
The recreation center has the capacity for about 98 people and the city has already set up 47 cots.
"If you know that you need more warmth than your home can provide, by all means the doors are open here," Donna Mayor David Moreno said.
Moreno says the shelter will be open until Wednesday. He said people are allowed to leave for a few hours to check on their homes and come back again. They can even stay throughout the day if they want.
For the first time, the city is also partnering with Valley Metro to make sure transportation is not a barrier to staying warm.
The shelter reopen Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. It is open to anyone that needs a warm place to stay, not just Donna residents.
For a list of available warming shelters throughout the Valley, click here.
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