Homeless get shelter in Joliet from lethal cold temps

Jeff Pursell had no place to go when he left Silver Cross Hospital a day before the polar vortex would bring life-threatening cold temperatures to the area.

The hospital made arrangements for him to go to MorningStar Mission, where Pursell contemplated what his fate would have been otherwise as he sat in the mission’s warming center on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’d probably be dead,” he said.

Outside, the temperature was minus 11 with a wind chill of minus 22. At night, it was as low as minus 21.

“I’m glad to have shelter like this around here,” Pursell said. “These people are real nice.”

The city’s two homeless shelters were especially busy Wednesday and Thursday as the region experienced record low temperatures.

MorningStar Mission on Washington Street provided shelter for 44 people on Tuesday night.

Daybreak Center on Cass Street provided emergency shelter for 22 people on Tuesday night and 29 on Wednesday night. The center also provided shelter for 90 more residents in the Daybreak program.

“We had people coming in all through the night,” Daybreak Director Courtney Suchor said. “It may be people tried to tough it out and then came into the shelter.”

Joshua Allotui said he stayed outdoors until 8 p.m. Tuesday before going to MorningStar Mission.

“I am used to the weather,” Allotui said.

But Tuesday was different. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Joliet at 8 p.m. Tuesday was minus 3. The wind chill factor was minus 11.

“Too much wind,” Allotui said. “It blew all over. Last night was too much wind.”