The night before temperatures dipped into the single digits, Lisa F. turned on her propane heater and tucked herself into three sleeping bags.
Although just a thin tent separated her from frigid air that dipped in or near the single digits, she said she was warm as she slept in her makeshift home in a wooded area off a Route 9 commercial strip in Howell.
"We're hanging in there," she said Saturday morning as she turned up her heater.
Lisa, a part-time caterer, is one of 13 people staying at a homeless encampment run by Minister Steve Brigham. Across the state, an estimated 8,500 homeless people sought shelter in libraries, community centers, soup kitchens or places like Howell's homeless camp as temperatures approached record levels this weekend. Temperatures were expected to reach minus 4 degrees early Sunday morning in some parts of the state.
In most towns, police officers and shelter workers drove circuitous routes searching for the homeless and a way to help them. In Trenton, officers on endangered person patrol looked in parks, the train station and other places the homeless gather.
'I'm scared I'm going to be frozen'
While many found shelter during this nearly two-week stretch of frigid weather, some did not. Michael Fleming, 57, was found dead in the snow outside of Charlie's Liquor Store by the Vineland police on Thursday morning. Police said he died in area where some of the indigent population of Vineland are known to frequent, and likely died of exposure to the cold.
Another still unidentified man was found dead outside in downtown Elizabeth Friday morning. It's not known if he was homeless, but police said his death may be weather related.
Ramon Garcia prefers to brave the cold; sleeping in a room of strangers isn't for everyone, the 44-year-old from Camden says. He also doesn't like that staff want you to do paperwork and will "kick you out" early in the morning.
"I do worry 'cause I know (Saturday night) the temperature's going to be very low, and this morning was 9 degrees, and where I am is very windy," he said. "I'm scared I'm going to be frozen."
Simone Yarell, director of operations at Newark's new winter shelter on Sussex Avenue, said like most places, the homeless are required to leave at 8 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. But because of the frigid temperatures, Yarell is letting residents stay around the clock.
"That's what makes me sleep better at night," she said. "Knowing this place is being run right and nobody has to be put out on the street."
'The cold don't let me sleep'
A makeshift home is created from a drainage pipe in Camden. (Joe Warner | For NJ.com)
Garcia doesn't get much sleep where he's staying now, in an unused concrete culvert in an abandoned lot in Camden. He's blocked the ends of the culvert with cardboard, boards and, ironically, a large plastic banner advertising two- and three-bedroom apartments for rent.
"I just sit there and shake, 'cause the cold don't let me sleep," he said Saturday after lunch at Cathedral Kitchen, a nonprofit on Federal Street that provides hot meals and groceries.
By day, Garcia said he finds warm places to go, from the day shelters that let him take a shower, to the Mexican food store where they let him hang out for an hour, and sometimes give him coffee.
"When night falls, I hide up in my place," he said.
Garcia wore a sweatshirt, jeans and work boots, and had jacket draped over his chair, but no gloves or hat. Before he left the soup kitchen, volunteer Mary Ann Gregory wrapped her plaid scarf snuggly around his neck. "Pull it over your face," she told him.
Jeff Carr, 30, of Camden, said he has been homeless for two years and when winter comes, he gets prepared. "I wear extra clothing," he said, including two jackets, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks on Saturday. "I gotta make sure I have gloves."
This recent extreme temperatures don't impact him much, he said. After leaving the shelter each morning, he heads for the library or the programs where he knows he can at least sit and be warm before it's time to move on.
"It's pretty much the same," he said.
'It's a life'
In Howell, snow blanketed most of the three-acre encampment and sunk at least three tents. A sign at the entrance to the camp read "Home for the Homeless." Ornaments and wood chimes hung on bare branches throughout the camp. Some tents were for cooking; others for storage.
"Snow is difficult, it can crush your tent with just two inches," said Brigham, 57, who shoveled walking paths to get around and spent Thursday sweeping the snow off tents to keep them from collapsing.
"People are hunkered down ... more so than normal," he said as he walked through more than a foot of snow to reach the camp's prayer garden. "I'm more concerned for the homeless outside the camp."
Many of the encampment's residents were off at work, mostly at part-time or per diem jobs, on Saturday morning. People came by to donate propane tanks to keep the tents warm, asking how everyone was coping.
Chad White, of Toms River, stopped by to drop off a case of propane. "I wanted to see if everyone was OK," White said. "It's so cold."
A few of those staying at the Howell homeless camp went to nearby warming centers, unable to bear the brutal cold. But most stayed, warmed by their small propane heaters inside their Walmart tents. Large plastic coverings helped insulate the tents.
"It's my home," said Olga Savka, 63, an Ukrainian immigrant who has lived inside her tent for nine months. "First time in my life I stay outside but I stay warm, I have good friends, it's a family."
Sitting inside her cozy tent, decorated with photos of her late husband and trinkets gifted to her by strangers, Savka said here, she was able to cook, eat and help others.
"It's a life," she said, surrounded by Ukrainian books, a basket of pears and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals.
Taylor Tiomoyo Harris and Kevin Shea contributed to this report.
Karen Yi may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.