Extreme cold means getting creative to keep people safe. One Lake County church that has never been used as a shelter has opened its doors to get those in need off of the street.

The Cathedral of Power International Church in Clermont opened its doors as a cold weather shelter for the area’s homeless population, making sure people had somewhere to go to get out of the cold.

This is a big deal to the thousands of homeless families in that area as Lake County’s Office of Emergency Management delivered supplies like cots and water to the Clermont church on Wednesday night.

The pastor of the church knows the importance of shelters like these as he used to be homeless himself.

"If they have no place to go, somebody has to open their doors. We have a couple of other organizations here that I know are full, so they can’t let anybody else in. If nothing else, it's just a plan for them to go for the night," said Pastor Chris Walker.

Lake County emergency management officials has requested agencies that work with the homeless to spread the word about where to find shelters.

Homeless shelters open doors during extreme cold