METRO believes cold weather played factor in death of person found in front of bus stop

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Sunday night's temperature plummet shaped up to be the coldest day of Houston's winter so far, and with it came tragedy.

An investigation is underway after a person was found dead at a METRO bus station in east Houston on Monday, and METRO investigators believe the freezing temperatures played a role in the person's death.

ABC13 Meteorologist Rachel Briers said Houston officially dropped to 30 degrees Monday morning, and with the breezy, northerly winds, the feels-like temperatures dropped as low as 18 degrees.

"There's a lot of mental health problems out there, and they want to pick up a bottle of wine or do some drugs and figure they sleep out the night, and in case like this, they never wake up," Scott Arthur with Star of Hope said.

The person's official cause of death has not been released yet.

The METRO Police Department is handling the investigation, given that the body was found directly in front of a bus shelter.

According to Briers, Houston is expected to see another widespread freeze Tuesday morning, but it should be slightly less frigid Wednesday morning.

With the cold snap here, Houston's homeless population is gearing up for what will be a tough overnight fight against the elements.

Star of Hope, which has helped people experiencing homelessness in Houston since 1907, will be working to pass out coats, hats, and blankets to the city's homeless starting at 12:30 p.m. Monday.

"We gave away like over a hundred coats and hundred blankets, so we plan for that ahead of time, and we also plan for the fact that we don't have a lot of room in the shelter," Arthur said.

According to the Office of Emergency Management, the weather has to reach a threshold of 24 degrees or 15 degrees with wind chill for two consecutive hours to open warming centers.

That said, they are trying to coordinate with shelters in the city to meet the need.

Arthur admits there's a strain when it's cold, but not cold enough for the city to open warming centers. Right now, their downtown shelter is nearing 100% capacity.

"We may mention the fact that we don't have room for them, but that doesn't mean we don't have a love for them and that we won't care for them, so we will make room for them even if it's just for a couple of hours," Arthur said.

Arthur said the death at the bus stop is an important reminder that outreach is paramount and that city resources need to be expanded.

"I don't think there is enough to meet the demand at any time. Politics or whatever aside, I think we need to work more as a group, and we are getting there to help the homeless," Arthur said.

The Coalition for the Homeless sent ABC13 the following statement:

"At this time, the city does not have warming centers open. The current forecast does not exceed the City of Houston action levels or triggers (24 degrees or 15 degrees windchill for two hours or greater). If the city exceeds this threshold, OEM works with partner agencies to immediately open warming centers."

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