Erie's homeless shelters say they've been operating at full or near-full capacity as Erie enters below freezing temperatures. 

One of those shelters is Our Neighbor's Place, a winter shelter for Erie's unhoused that rotates locations between local churches every two weeks, and allows homeless people to have a warm, safe place to eat, clean themselves, and get some rest.

"So Our Neighbors Place is a seasonal shelter that runs basically from mid-November to-mid March," said Joseph Kumer, Director of Community Engagement at the First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, which is where Our Neighbor's Place is set up as of this week. 

Kumer says they usually fill up all their beds each night. 

"We have 38 beds this year, with a couple optional bed possibilities," continued Kumer. "There are some extra beds at some of the year round shelters that are open once the cots are filled here, so we try to get folks to those."

One of those year-round shelters that takes in overflow from Our Neighbor's Place is Community of Caring. 

Co-Operations Manager Randall Harris says it's important for shelters to work together to fight homelessness in Erie. 

"We just want to get them in here," said Harris.

"Anything below 32° freezes you, freezes your blood, freezes water, so that could kill them, and we just want to keep them alive and just keep doing our part."

Those in need of assistance finding a shelter in Erie can contact the county's homeless hotline at 814-743-5837.