BOONE COUNTY, Ky. — Randall Guttridge told us it wasn't long ago he was struggling with addiction and off-and-on homelessness.
“Last time I was homeless was on the streets of Louisville,” Guttridge said. “In a snowstorm, matter of fact.”
We spoke to Guttridge Tuesday, and asked him what it was like being outside in those conditions and not having a safe, warm place to go.
“Frantic, really frantic. Not knowing, you’re so cold, your feet and hands hurt, you don’t know where you can go to get warm,” Guttridge said. “So you really have thoughts of, 'Am I gonna make it through this?'”
WATCH: How two nonprofits partnered with Bone County to provide warmth and wrap-around services during harsh winter weather:
Because of that experience, Guttridge said he knows just how important and lifesaving places like the Boone County Cold Shelter are for those living on the streets.
“Most people have sympathy. I don’t have sympathy, I have empathy. I know what they’re going through,” Guttridge said.
He now helps those who are experiencing what he once did through his job as a peer support specialist at NorthKey Community Care.
The Boone County Cold Shelter is a partnership between Boone County Fiscal Court, Northern Kentucky's largest homeless services organization called Welcome House and local nonprofit NorthKey Community Care.
Welcome House said this has been their busiest season yet as they've stayed open consistently since Thanksgiving, with the exception of some warm weather pockets and served over 100 individuals and families.
“We operate out of a hotel, and ensure that folks have a place to go when the weather is deemed extremely cold,” said Jenna Gurren, director of homeless solutions with Welcome House.
The shelter doesn’t turn anyone away, even if they are under the influence or don’t have identification. The goal is not only to keep them warm, but to serve the whole person, Gurren told us.
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“You get real progress and change when you take it one step further and really connect folks to more services,” Gurren said
Those services, provided by NorthKey, include primary care, mental health and substance use resources as well as medication management and crisis help.
Danielle Hubbard, the lead manager of community support services with NorthKey Community Care, said the organization focuses on a "person-centered approach."
“(We) go to somebody’s room if they can’t get out of the room because of their physical health, or de-escalating someone that’s in crisis, or helping somebody get psychiatric medication. I mean that, that’s what we’re here for," Hubbard told us.
Guttridge said the one-stop shop for help approach is necessary for getting people back on their feet.
“Being able to offer the mental health piece, the substance abuse piece is paramount," Guttridge said. "Not just to get people housed but to allow them to keep their house."
