As homeowners and local governments brace for the cold, preparations were well underway on Sunday to protect people, pets, plants and pipes from the cold temperatures. The City of Dallas, in partnership with several nonprofits, opened a shelter able to house 900 people at Fair Park on Sunday. weather Jan 3 Temperatures drop below freezing; Cold Weather Advisory until 10 a.m. Monday weather Jan 4 Warming centers ready for first blast of cold air of the new year “It is our belief that everyone deserves access to protection from the elements, regardless of their circumstances,” said Interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert. Agencies Austin Street Center and OurCalling, which both operate shelters and serve the homeless community, will run the temporary shelter located at 3701 Grand Ave, at Fair Park. “Everyone should have the right to live until at least tomorrow making sure they have a roof over their head and something to eat,” said Daniel Roby, CEO of Austin Street Center. He said they spent the day sending out texts, reaching out to other nonprofits and making social media posts letting people know the center is open. They’ve also had vans and buses shuttling people from different places across the city to Fair Park.  “The Office of Homeless Solutions has an outreach team, Austin Street has an outreach team and OurCalling and others have outreach teams as well and all those individuals are going to be on the streets going to encampments that they are familiar with, individuals that they know are there to see if they can compel them to come in,” said Roby. Inside the shelter, there will be security at the 50-thousand-square-foot building where people will walk through a metal detector. They’ll then receive a blanket and a bag of snacks. Roby said from there, there’s an intake process so they can follow up with people after the inclement weather to help them find housing. He said the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority is providing mental health professionals. The shelter will also have paramedics from Dallas Fire-Rescue. Parkland is also providing resources. There will also be a space for people’s pets with the help of Dallas Animal Services. If they reach capacity, there will open up other shelters as needed. VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS NEEDED During a news conference on Sunday, the city of Dallas said thanks to the community and also City of Dallas employees, they’ve collected thousands of winter caps, gloves and jackets, but are in need of more. “Right behind me are 1,000 coats that were donated by the citizens of Dallas during the first citywide Office of Homeless Solutions Coat driver that was held in partnership with Dallas Public Library. We are very grateful to the citizens of Dallas for coming through and helping us meet our goal,” said Gloria Sandoval, the program administrator for the Office of Homeless Solutions. People who would like to donate their time to the shelter can do so through Austin Street Center through their website. Those who would like to donate jackets, bottled water, blankets and travel-sized toiletries can do so by dropping them off to Austin Street Center at 1717 Jeffery St. in Dallas. between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. “We ask that the people not bring those items here to the shelter because space is limited, we also ask people not to come directly to the shelter unless they are registered to volunteer,” explained Sandoval. HOMEOWNERS PREPARE The cold temperatures are expected to arrive overnight Sunday into Monday morning. For the last several days homeowners have been getting their property ready for the winter weather. “From past experience and many mistakes, I’ve learned that the number one take care of my plants, because I’m a plant lover,” said Deepak Naik, who helped his daughter and her family prep their home on Sunday. He moved plants in the garage and placed covers over outdoor faucets. “One winter I did not put covers on the taps and at least three faucets completely blew up,” said Naik about about his past busted pipes. PREPARING THE ROADWAYS On Sunday, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Fort Worth District said it was in the process of treating roadways. “We’re going out and pre-treating our roadways with brine, brine, it’s a salt and water combination that we spray on the roadway, we want that to dry, the idea is when precipitation falls, it prevents the bonding of icing to the roadway,” said Val Lopez, a public information officer for the Fort Worth District of TXDOT. TxDOT for the Dallas District said it’s still monitoring and has equipment ready.