Salvation Army in Tyler set to serve those in need during the cold

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Gearing up for the cold is what many people are doing ahead of this week’s cold snap. Among those getting ready is the Salvation Army in Tyler.

“We have the blankets ready, we have the cots out, and we’re ready to go,” said Captain Jeremy Walker with the Salvation Army. He said they operate year-round, but they pay special attention when extreme cold is predicted.

“We start gearing up, and we start getting more blankets out, start looking at, you know, different things that we can do. Our case workers work very closely with the city. We’ve been in contact with them, and we’re just gearing for an influx of people coming in,” Walker said.

Since the February 2021 winter storm, the Salvation Army has taken extra steps to make sure their shelter is winterized even more.

“After a couple of years ago when we had all that snow, our kitchen and our shelter, they’re ready now. That caught a lot of people off guard. We’re not supposed to have weather like that in Texas, but we’re here. We never shut the doors during that, and we’re not going to shut the doors now,” Walker said.

The kitchen in particular will be making sure to cook food that will warm up anyone looking for shelter from the cold.

“We talked to the kitchen supervisor this morning. They’re gearing up, looking at some warm soup and chili, just stuff that’s going to be warm,” Walker said.

They are ready to serve those in need with three meals a day and 24 hour warming stations.

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