TULSA, Okla. — The Be Heard Movement and CREOKS partnered to open up a shelter early November 2025.
Now, the shelter has opened as a warming shelter for those who need a place to eat and sleep.
WATCH: 'A blessing': Tulsa warming shelters working to help as many people as possible
Freddie Hanson is just one of the many guests at the center.
“It's a blessing that Thursday I had numbing," he said. "It was a tingling sensation in my left arm, and then this right leg here was numb.”
He said he is now able to rest and recover from the cold thanks to the warming shelter's space.
“God answered my prayer," he said. “I had been sleeping outside on a bench on Greenwood, and so when they said it's going to be four degrees, that's when they put us on vans and brought us here.”
Amber Gutierrez is the Chief Communications Officer with CREOKS.
She said numbers have skyrocketed, with the shelter usually getting about 50 people a night, and now more than 250.
She said that while the center was at capacity of 250, they've opened up more rooms for guests to sleep in.
"We just don't want to let anybody be out in the cold, in this kind of weather," she said. “Before we were open in early November, people would have to walk four to five miles to find the nearest shelter, and that can be such a hardship, especially now that we're in the extreme temperatures. Even walking a mile could be deadly."
The CREOKS shelter isn't the only warming center to reach capacity.
The Tulsa Dream Center communications team said its capacity was set at 150, but had almost 200 people staying inside to stay safe.
Additionally, the shelter was going to close on Monday, but is now staying open until Wednesday due to the freezing weather.
Both shelters are in need of donations.
CREOKS and the Day Center are both asking anyone who can to donate bottled water, so they can give it out to guests.
CREOKS is also in need of volunteers to help give out food to guests.
The Dream Center also said they are running out of men's winter clothing, like beanies, jackets, pants, and underwear.
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