Knowing they may have more guests than usual, shelters in the area spent the week preparing for Thursday night's drop in temperature.

The capacity at Open Doors in Norwalk has been cut in half due to COVID, but staff members say they won't turn anyone away and will work with other organizations to make sure all homeless individuals who show up have a place to sleep.

Open Doors staff passed out blankets to people on the street and told them earlier in the week about the colder temperatures coming.

Gov. Ned Lamont issued cold weather protocol. His chief of staff, Paul Mounds, says this should help vulnerable populations in the next three to five days.

"That allows us to provide support to cold weather shelters and make sure they are properly reimbursed [and] prepared to respond if any requests come through our weather EOC system," he said.

Inspirica in Stamford is also working to keep people warm. The organization prioritizes women and families, but staff members say they won't turn anyone away either.

As a precaution with COVID-19, Inspirica has quarantine rooms for new clients and temperature checks upon arrival.

"We operate 24/7," said Louise Calixte, the chief program officer of temporary housing at Inspirica. "We would still take anybody that comes in overnight because...the priority at this point is not so much the formal process, but to make sure that everyone is out of the cold and sheltered and safe for the night during these cold weather temperatures."