Latest local news, weather, high school sports in the Rio Grande Valley

Coats, hats and hoods are some of the essential weather apparel for when the temperature turns colder.

Jose Cruz has only a vest to wear.

For him, the dip can be deadly.

He lives on the streets.

"It's very cold... the temperature... like being in a meat freezer," he explained.

Like others without a home, Jose turns to the Loaves & Fishes Homeless Shelter on 514 South E Street in Harlingen to find a warm place to stay.

"From time to time I cry because of my way of living ... My life," Jose said.

He's one of about a dozen who slept in the shelter during Friday morning's freeze warning across portions of the Valley.

At the shelter, people get their own bed, food and access to vital information for programs to help get them back on their feet, according to the shelter's Executive Director Bill Reagan.

"It's sure better to be with us than out on the streets," he said.

It's not just homeless people who seek shelter when it comes to the cold weather.          

Families down on their luck, who perhaps couldn't pay their utilities, come to Loaves & Fishes for a warm place to stay.

Bill says when it comes to colder weather; it can be an obstacle for anyone.

Above freezing temps don't make life on the streets any easier.

"Sad and depressing," Jose explained.

He worries about his health.

Sickness without the means to get help could turn a small cold into a life threatening illness, according to him.

That's why he's grateful, for one thing:

"To have a roof over my head."

Something he says everyone who has one should be thankful for.