What Coachella Valley cooling centers are doing to keep people warm in cold front

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for parts of Southern California, including the Coachella Valley and San Diego County. Officials say the areas affected could potentially experience sub-freezing temperatures as low as 29 degrees.

A Palm Springs shelter that serves as a cooling center in the Summer has transformed into a warming center during this season's frigid temperatures. It's located off El Cielo Road near Baristo road, and is operated by the Coacella Valley Rescue Mission.

"We have seen a lot of people for the first week of the month for sure," warming center manager, Mark McGowan said.

The cold front that's sweeping the Coachella Valley has caused several people to seek overnight shelter.

"We always have a capacity to consider, but we always try to sleep as many people as we can without turning anyone away," McGowan said.

The center has the capacity to hold 45 people. More recently, there's been a trend with who is coming in.

"We’ve seen a great spike in the senior community and it’s way too cold for them to be out there," McGowan said.

The shelter provides much more than just a place to stay. Guests are able to take showers get clothes, food, warm blankets, and a place to sleep at night. Snack bags are also provided, as well as warm meals.

"We rallied a lot of nonprofits so I went around to local community churches, and got some nonprofits to provide warm food at night. They prepare it in their commercial kitchens, we have warmers here," McGowan said.

McGowan says it's a process to get local nonprofits on board. The location is the only overnight shelter in the West Valley.

Palm Springs Mayor Geoff Kors says the center is currently funded by the city and Desert Healthcare District and Foundation. It would have closed back on September 30th, when the county stopped footing the bill for emergency shelters that were open during the extreme heat.

"We didn’t want to close it in the cold of the winter, anymore than in the heat of the summer," Kors said.

The shelter opens to the public at 7p.m. People are able to stay until 7 a.m.

The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission also has an overnight shelter in Indio.