City of Houston to Open 12 Warming Centers Ahead of Freeze

Homeless, Warming Centers, cold, freezing

Source: A school bus driven by church volunteers empties half a dozen unhoused people they fed and warmed up during a Bible study back onto the street at Bagby Street between Capitol and Texas because there was nowhere else the church group knew to take them in Downtown Houston, TX on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The Houston area is experiencing its coldest temperatures in nearly a year. (Sharon Steinmann/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

HOUSTON — With the worst of the frigid temperatures from the arctic front that hit the area Tuesday night still to come, the City of Houston has taken steps to offer relief from the elements for those in need by opening 12 warming centers.

Temperatures reached as low as 34 degrees on Tuesday, according to Houston Public Media, leaving many Houston-area residents waking up to near-freezing temperatures on Wednesday. The worst of the cold could see temperatures dip to as low as 26 degrees, creating freezing conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

With the coming freezing weather, the city opened 12 warming centers at these locations:

Acres Homes Multi-Service Center: 6719 W Montgomery Rd.
Northeast Multi-Service Center: 9720 Spaulding St.
Kashmere Multi-Service Center: 4802 Lockwood Dr.
Moody Community Center: 3725 Fulton St
Fonde Community Center: 110 Sabine St.
Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center: 6402 Market St.
Magnolia Multi-Service Center: 7037 Capitol St
Metropolitan Multi-Service Center: 1475 W Gray St.
Southwest Multi-Service Center: 6400 High Star Dr.
Sunnyside Multi-Service Center: 4410 Reed Rd.
Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center: 4014 Market St.
Third Ward Multi-Service Center: 3611 Ennis St.

If someone needs assistance to get to a warming center, they can dial 3-1-1 for transportation to the nearest location, according to the city. This is the second time in 2025 that the city has opened warming centers, which first took place in January.

According to an existing policy implemented in 2020, City of Houston warming centers would only open if the temperature dipped to 24 degrees and below, or a wind chill of 15 degrees, for at least two hours. According to Mayor John Whitmire, the city has “worked around” the specifics of the policy to open warming centers with both freezes this year.