MILWAUKEE— Repairers of the Breach in Milwaukee is ready for a busy, brutally cold weekend in Wisconsin when more people may need a place to stay.

“That’s what we are an emergency warming room,” said Rev. James West Jr., executive director of Repairers of the Breach. "It’s for those who find themselves without shelter, needing a place to stay overnight.

The shelter has had overnight hours from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. since Dec. 23, West said.

“It’s not new to us this weekend. We just don’t know what numbers we’re going to see this weekend,” he said.

That’s why this weekend is challenging for the shelter.

In a normal year, without COVID-19, the shelter’s main room can hold 55 people.

"Now that we’re safe distancing, it’s only 14,” West said.

The shelter said if more than 14 people are in need, they have two additional floors.

“We set down these mats. We’ll have one for each chair, six feet apart. They can actually lay down and be six feet apart to the left and right of themselves,” West said, describing the sleeping situation.

Hope House Milwaukee is also ready for the brutally cold weekend.

“Hope House is lucky in that each of our families have their own separate room that they stay in,” said Wendy Weckler, executive director of Hope House Milwaukee. "So, we’re able to isolate people pretty well if they need to.”

Hope House also has an area set up for people who need to come inside just to get warm. There, they can also help find an overnight shelter from the brutal cold.

“I think all the shelters are doing the best they can,” Weckler said. "The city and the county have put in a ton of effort to making sure people are taken care of, and it’s just really a community partnership.”

If you need shelter Friday night or throughout the cold weekend,  you can call 211 to find out which shelters have space, West said.

“Therefore, we can distribute the people according to the spaces available,” West said.