As he stepped through the screen door of the Parish Kitchen on Covington's Pike Street on Tuesday afternoon, Anthony Martin felt the first bit of warmth he'd felt all day.

        The two thin jackets he wore — one made of tattered blue jean material, the other a thin burgundy zippered sweat shirt — were little protection against the day's single-digit wind chill.

        The cold had turned his cheeks and ears a bright red, and he shivered as his body adjusted to the warmth of the soup kitchen.

        “These are all I have,” said the 43-year-old Covington man, whose home is a car. Opening both of his jackets, he revealed a thin cotton T-shirt. “But it's OK. I'll be all right.”

THANKSGIVING MEALS

A number of organizations and agencies offer free hot meals Thursday for Thanksgiving. They include:    • Salvation Army, 120 E. Central Parkway. Meal served from noon to 1 p.m.; Thanksgiving service at 11:30 a.m. Call 762-5649 for information.    • Butterfield Senior Center, 22 Garfield Place. Meal served at noon. Music and cash door prizes also provided. Sponsored by the Association of Indian Physicians. Call the Homeless Hotline at 797-4344 for information.    • A Feast of Love, College Hill Presbyterian Church, 5742 Hamilton Ave. (Metro Bus 17). Meal served from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Call 681-1256 or 242-9574 for meal delivery or transportation needs.    • City Gospel Mission, 1419 Elm St. Meal served 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Call 241-5525 for information.     • New Life Mission Church, St. Julie's Church and Princeton Pike Church of God will serve a meal at the Finmonth on Third Street in Hamilton. Food service is from noon to 3 p.m. Call 896-9800 for information.     • The Parish Kitchen, in the rear of 141 Pike St., Covington. Meal served 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Call 581-7745 for information.    • The Storehouse Ministries Jacob's Well Soup Kitchen, 222 Pike St., Covington. Meal served from 3 to 7 p.m. Call 431-0500 for information.    • Fairhaven Rescue Mission, 260 W. Pike St., Covington. Meal served at 6 p.m. Call 491-1027 for information.    • Northern Kentucky Community Center, 824 Greenup St., Covington. Meal served from noon to 3 p.m. Call 431-5700 for information.

        Like many others who are homeless in the Tristate, Mr. Martin was ill-prepared for the drastic temperature drop Monday night. The weather caught some area shelters off guard as well.

        In Over-the-Rhine, the Drop-Inn Center Shelter House ran out of men's coats, and officials scrambled to alert the public of its need.

        “People don't donate what they aren't using right now. It was warm and people probably weren't thinking about warm coats,” said shelter head Chris Engle on Tuesday.

        Homeless men outnumber women at the shelter 5-to-1.

        “I have no need for women's clothes or coats. ... I need men's winter coats, preferably large sizes, men's underwear, warm socks and towels.

        “The colder it gets, the more people come here looking for help. Suddenly we're very busy, sleeping about 200 people,” Mr. Engle said. “The city didn't open the warming centers, and they won't be open (Tuesday night, when a low of 19 was forecast).”

        For many, the shelters are the only options available because the city of Cincinnati will not open its warming centers until a sustained cold spell is in effect and the shelters have reached capacity.

        With a predicted warm-up later this week, it could be awhile before the warming centers open.

        At Bethany House in Fairmount, the homeless shelter for women and their children was filled to capacity — 25 — both Monday and Tuesday.

        Kathy Becker, a counselor who works at Greater Miami Case Management in Hamilton, participates in yearlong counts of the homeless in the Fairfield, Middletown and Hamilton areas.

        Over the weekend, she said, workers found seven homeless people on the streets and got them into shelters.

        While this might not seem like a large number, counters don't usually find people outside in frigid weather, she said.

        “I think that because it's been warm for so long, this cold has taken us all by surprise,” she said.

        Officials estimate the homeless population in the Tristate could be in the thousands.

        In Covington, because of government cutbacks, there are no overnight homeless shelters, said Molly Navin, director of the Parish Kitchen. “Most of them will sleep by the riverfront, or if someone has a warm place they'll share it. (The homeless) do not let each other suffer.”

        Eyeing Mr. Martin as he stepped toward the soup kitchen's counter and politely accepted a plate piled high with sauerkraut, potato and sausage, she asked, “Need some gloves?”

        With a nod of his head and a slight smile, he politely accepted those, too.
       

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