People sleep in tents near a wooded area adjacent to the Dan Ryan Expressway Tuesday Jan. 29, 2019, in Chicago. Officials throughout the region were focused on protecting vulnerable people from the cold , including the homeless, seniors and those living in substandard housing. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Republished February 07, 2019 - 11:59 AM
Original Publication Date February 01, 2019 - 12:31 PM
CHICAGO - In a story Feb. 1 about a Chicago woman who spearheaded an effort to help the homeless during dangerously cold weather, The Associated Press misidentified the woman. Her name is Candice Payne, not Cindy Payne.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Woman's effort puts Chicago homeless in hotels during freeze
Chicago woman organizes effort for homeless people to stay in hotel rooms amid dangerously cold weather, eventually housing about 120 people
A good Samaritan spearheaded an effort that eventually housed over 100 homeless people in a hotel amid dangerously cold weather in Chicago.
Candice Payne confirms that she, her husband and a few friends went to a homeless camp late Tuesday as temperatures sank to minus 23 degrees (minus 30.5 Celsius). They worried the city and charities wouldn't have the resources to help.
She says they persuaded some people to go to the Amber Inn. Payne charged 20 rooms to her credit card at $70 each.
The next evening, the Chicago Police Department had to confiscate nearly 100 propane tanks after one exploded. The tanks had been donated to help warm the camp.
Payne and her friends returned to the camp and posted about their effort on social media, prompting donations of food, clothing and enough money to house about 120 people at the hotel through Saturday night.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019