Winter is a hard time to be homeless, especially in Billings, but when the temperatures dip below zero, it can be hard to survive if you can't find a warm place to go.
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Debra Bonn is facing homelessness and says she knows the struggle.
"It's hard to deal with all these people who don't have a place to go, bundled up and everything," she said at the Off the Streets shelter.
Dena Bishopp is a case manager for Off the Streets, a low-barrier shelter near downtown, and says she's seen people face frostbite and even lose limbs in deep freezes.
"There were some amputations that happened for toes. Yeah, it happens, it happens a lot, a lot more than you would think," Bishopp said.
"People lose limbs in this kind of weather, and it's scary to know that. Your feet, your toes, your hands missing, it's heartbreaking to see some of the stuff that goes on," said Bonn.
That's why Off The Streets, in addition to those at Montana Rescue Mission, open their doors when cold becomes dangerous.
Glenn Fournier, the shelter manager for the mission, says they implement that policy when temperatures are expected to fall below freezing.
"Where the conditions outside are dangerous to human life, frozen extremities and hypothermia can happen quickly, and if they're not equipped and outside exposed to the elements, we open the doors so they don't have to go through that," said Fournier.
As the season has trended warmer, Fournier says he is now seeing an influx due to the recent freeze.
"Our population levels seem to be lower, but on a day like this, I can already see that there are more people on the sidewalk, more people coming in," Fournier said.
