Advertisement

Boston Takes Homeless Census On One Of The Season's Coldest Nights

09:02
Download Audio
Resume
A homeless person panhandles in the snow in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass. on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.(Jesse Costa/WBUR)
A homeless person panhandles in the snow in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass. on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.(Jesse Costa/WBUR)

It's the one thing on everyone's minds — the polar vortex.

It's moving cold air south, bringing record-breaking temperatures to the Midwest. And here in Boston, we're in the teens, with wind chills below zero.

As the temperatures drop outside, some of the most vulnerable people are those without homes. Wednesday, as part of the city's annual homeless census, hundreds of volunteers and public officials endured the cold to see how many people were spending the night on the streets, and offer them shelter and services.

The numbers aren't in yet, but according to last year's census there were more than 6,000 people experiencing homelessness in Boston. In that year, 163 individuals were identified as living without shelter.

Guests

Alan Dunham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, which tweets @NWSBoston.

Robert Pulster, regional coordinator with the National Initiatives Team at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. He tweets @RobertPulster.

Correction: An earlier version of this post gave census numbers that do not accurately reflect the number of people experiencing homelessness in Boston. The post has been updated to remove that figure and indicate the differences in the number of people experiencing homelessness and those who are living without shelter. We regret the error.

This segment aired on January 31, 2019.

Related:

Headshot of Jamie Bologna

Jamie Bologna Senior Producer/Director, Radio Boston
Jamie Bologna was senior producer and director of Radio Boston.

More…

Headshot of Paris Alston

Paris Alston Host, Consider This
Paris Alston was WBUR's host of the Consider This podcast and a former producer for Radio Boston.

More…

Advertisement

More from Radio Boston

Listen Live
Close