Philadelphia officials declare Cold Blue to help the homeless amid freezing temperatures

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Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services announced Sunday that the city will observe a Code Blue from 3 p.m. Sunday until further notice.

Officials encourage anyone who is concerned about someone who appears to be experiencing homelessness and is out in the street during freezing temperatures, to call the City’s Homeless Outreach Hotline at 215-232-1984. 

What is a Code Blue?

City officials declare a Code Blue when the forecast shows either wind chills of 20 degrees or below, or a temperature of 32 degrees or below with precipitation. 

During Code Blue, the City takes special measures such as a 24-hour outreach to find people who are living on the street and transport them to safe indoor spaces, additional shelter beds and people are allowed to stay inside emergency housing throughout the day.

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If you are experiencing homelessness yourself, you can call the Homeless Outreach hotline at (215) 232-1984. You can also go to a homelessness intake center and speak with someone in-person.

Get more information on how the city protects people experiencing homelessness from freezing temperatures, and how to help is available here.