Emergency shelter opens near uptown as snow nears Charlotte

As snow nears Charlotte, an emergency shelter opened at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Grady Cole Center near uptown.

The center is on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College, 310 N. Kings Drive.

The shelter is for everyone, including couples, families, individuals and service animals. The shelter will stay open until noon Thursday, Mecklenburg County said in a statement.

​The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office decided to open the shelter because demand is expected to exceed total capacity at partnering shelters, and bad weather, including snow, is forecast through Wednesday.

Red Cross volunteers will operate the shelter with help from Mecklenburg County staff. The Red Cross also will provide cots, blankets, meals and snacks.

The Charlotte Area Transit System provides direct bus routes (9 and 17) from the Charlotte Transportation Center at 310 E Trade St., to the Grady Cole Center. CATS’s City LYNX Gold Line is a free streetcar service that stops near the center. CATS will assist those seeking to travel to the Grady Cole Center and as well as partner shelters listed below.

Many CATS bus routes serve one or all shelters. Those routes include 11, 13, 21, 22 and 26.

The Urban Ministry Center Outreach Team will continue to walk through the community to encourage homeless people to visit a shelter or provide sleeping bags and blankets if they refuse to go to a shelter.

Partner shelters are the Salvation Army Center of Hope, 534 Spratt St.; Men’s Shelter of Charlotte,1210 N. Tryon St.; and Urban Ministry Center (Room in the Inn), 945 N. College St.

Most restrictions for admission to the shelters have been waived during the severe cold weather period, county officials said.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Emergency shelter opens near uptown as snow nears Charlotte."