COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) - Columbus city leaders extended the hours of the warming shelter at the Columbus Police Department.

Mayor Robert Smith said the warming shelter will be open 24 hours a day until Friday.

The mayor, along with local organizations like the Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition, Salvation Army and Genesis Church, came together to provide a warming shelter at the Columbus Police Department.

The director of outreach for the City of Columbus, Glenda Richardson, said the police department was the best place to hold it because the citizens would be safe there.

The warming shelter provides cots, blankets, hot meals and drinks.

The shelter welcomes anyone who needs to warm up for a few minutes from being outside, those whose power may be out or those who need a warm place to sleep overnight.

Richardson said local organizations and churches will meet next week to seek a long-term solution for when temperatures drop again.