OMAHA, Nebraska – Phillip Gober stays at the Open Door Mission shelter.
When he was homeless for two years, he got something no one wants: frostbite.
“It was…painful,” Gober explained. “I could not use my fingers. And I have to walk very slowly because every step I take causes pain, and it feels like a burning, tingling sensation.
He also claimed to have suffered nerve damage as a result.
The mission staff stated that they had seen worse cases.
“Their blood pressure is really low, and their pulse is low,” said health and healing director Laura Dosen. “During the cold spell last year, we had a lot of severe frostbite. We had to monitor and wrap their feet for weeks, and sometimes they had to be amputated.”
While Dosen stated that many people are extremely resilient in the face of adversity, there are additional risks.
“One of the most dangerous things that I’ve seen is if someone is intoxicated or on drugs or not thinking clearly, they don’t know that they’re cold, and they can be walking around barefoot, and then come in with terrible frostbite on their feet,” she informed me.
Another shelter resident stated that despite being homeless for most of his life, he has never had hypothermia or frostbite.
“Things that I’ve done to help stay warm is hand warmers, I’ve always carried around extra clothes, I’ve had on extra jackets, extra tee shirts, multiple long-sleeve shirts,” says Michael Petkovich.
It is exactly what mission personnel recommend to those who intend to brave the cold weather.
They also recommend going inside the shelter, where there are warming stations with blankets, dry socks, and warm packs.
“We just bring people in, we try to get them dry as soon as possible, and then we try to warm them up,” Dosen told me.
After an Omaha Police officer rescued a homeless man from a burning car early Friday morning, the department stated that dealing with the homeless population is not a burden.
However, with the impending cold snap, they want to remind people that several shelters in the metro are providing warming centers and assistance to those in need.
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