Salisbury, Md. – Temperatures will plunge this week which could mean dangerous conditions for those who need shelter.

Warming centers and homeless shelters across Wicomico County are gearing up for a surge in people coming in ahead of temperatures dropping this week.

“We’ve already we’ve already gone into our cold weather mode,” Celeste Savage, CEO and executive director of HALO Ministry said. “We just don’t want anybody to be out in the elements.”

Being out in the cold can be deadly for those who are unhoused or those without power or electricity in their homes. People exposed to the elements can develop hypothermia and “freeze to death,” said Savage.

Warming centers should not to be confused with shelters. Warming centers are meant to be used only during the day whereas people can stay in shelters overnight. However, to stay ahead of any emergencies, directors say to make emergency plans, especially for those who tend to lose power during winter weather.

Warming centers and shelters told WMDT that they anticipate receiving a lot of calls asking for availability and that calls are already coming in.

“They’ve already started, people looking for shelter and people looking for housing,” Executive Director J. Anthony Dickerson of Christian Shelter said.

Savage urged people to donate blankets ahead of the winter months for their shelter beds and cots.

“But we also like to be able to get out blankets to those who come up to the door, they don’t want to come into the shelter,” she said. “Anything we can do to help them not to freeze.”

Dickerson said that people are usually only one missed paycheck or tragedy away from “being homeless” and encouraged people and especially those vulnerable to colder weather to reach out to family, friends or organizations.

“Just because, you know, we have it all — it appears that we have it all together, don’t mean we’ll never be homeless,” he said. “So, make sure you have a plan of action.”