The hotline, which is in its eighth year of existence, will operate throughout Hypothermia Season, which began Nov. 1 and ends March 31.
There are seven city-operated shelters that house homeless people during the winter, in addition to privately run facilities such as the Community for Creative Nonviolence.
Staffed by volunteers from Catholic charities and the Community Partnership for Prevention of Homelessness, there are several shelters that house only men, and one each for women and families.
Shelters, however, are only temporary, and often don't meet the needs of the city's homeless, said Scott Schenkelberg, executive director of Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen in the basement of the Western Presbyterian Church at 2401 Virginia Ave. N.W.
"More outreach and intervention programs are needed," he said. "They need to be made more hospitable, more livable and be put in better neighborhoods."
District officials said some of the city's nicer neighborhoods will not allow shelters to be set up there, and that newly opened homeless facilities are cleaner and more hospitable.
"The city constantly struggles against the issue of where (shelters) should go," said Cornell Chappelle, chief of Program Operations at the Community Partnership for Prevention of Homelessness.
"We do our best to save lives, to encourage them to come in from the cold," said Daniels, of the D.C. Department of Health.
Burton said the Community for Creative Nonviolence, the largest homeless shelter in the country, does what it can to help people who require more than just a place to get warm.
"Many people come in here wanting medical service, but we just aren't equipped for that," he said.
The Community also takes the "overflow" that city-run shelters cannot accommodate.
"This is the largest shelter in the U.S., which should normally require millions of dollars a year to run," Burton said. "We operate on only $100,000 per year."
There are seven city-operated shelters that house homeless people during the winter, in addition to privately run facilities such as the Community for Creative Nonviolence.
Staffed by volunteers from Catholic charities and the Community Partnership for Prevention of Homelessness, there are several shelters that house only men, and one each for women and families.
Shelters, however, are only temporary, and often don't meet the needs of the city's homeless, said Scott Schenkelberg, executive director of Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen in the basement of the Western Presbyterian Church at 2401 Virginia Ave. N.W.
"More outreach and intervention programs are needed," he said. "They need to be made more hospitable, more livable and be put in better neighborhoods."
District officials said some of the city's nicer neighborhoods will not allow shelters to be set up there, and that newly opened homeless facilities are cleaner and more hospitable.
"The city constantly struggles against the issue of where (shelters) should go," said Cornell Chappelle, chief of Program Operations at the Community Partnership for Prevention of Homelessness.
"We do our best to save lives, to encourage them to come in from the cold," said Daniels, of the D.C. Department of Health.
Burton said the Community for Creative Nonviolence, the largest homeless shelter in the country, does what it can to help people who require more than just a place to get warm.
"Many people come in here wanting medical service, but we just aren't equipped for that," he said.
The Community also takes the "overflow" that city-run shelters cannot accommodate.
"This is the largest shelter in the U.S., which should normally require millions of dollars a year to run," Burton said. "We operate on only $100,000 per year."
