TOLEDO, Ohio — The snow is coming and there are several homeless people who are scrambling to find a place to stay before the storm.
"Atreyu has been sleeping in his truck and now with the winter storm coming, I'm very concerned," said Shawn Parra, who is a homeless advocate.
Standing beside Atreyu Robinson, Parra is speaking on behalf of Robinson, who is homeless and suffers from mental health issues.
With snow on the way and few options, it's left the two pleading for help.
"He was told three to six months waiting to get housing. So I called the Lucas County Mental Health Board. I've called even mental health agencies. Any mental agency I could think of. And a lot of them had different requirements," said Parra.
Parra says most of those calls were unanswered or returned.
Now with little time left before the storm, we reached out to EleSondra DeRomano.
Her organization STARS, which stands for Standing Together Against Real Slavery, has recently helped a lot of the homeless in the area.
And on Tuesday night without hesitation, STARS and the Unity United Methodist Church in Northwood stepped up to be there for one more.
They've agreed to pay for a hotel, Robinson can stay at during the winter storm.
"He's not the only one. And there's a lot of people that are dual diagnosis, that are in this type of situation. It's just that the Mental Health Board start taking more proactive approaches to helping people," said Parra.
He says he understands the system is overwhelmed and that the funds aren't there. But feels no one should have to sleep out on the streets in cold weather.
"I don't sleep well at night. He sleeps in front of my house. I go out and check on him multiple times a night to make sure he hasn't frozen to death," said Parra.
As for a long-term solution, Parra is asking anyone who has a rental property, if they would be willing to work something out with Robinson. You can contact him at 419-277-3513.
Or you can also reach out to STARS, at 419-693-5170 where you can also donate to Robinson or any of their efforts to help the homeless.