Lines of people snaked around the Austin Resource Center and The Salvation Army in downtown Austin Monday night in hopes of getting out of the cold temperatures.

So many, in fact, that the A.R.C.H. added 40 extra beds, the Salvation Army added 125 more, but the extra measures still were not enough.

Administrators at both facilities were forced to do a lottery to determine who could stay inside and who had to stay somewhere else.

"We don't have a church for the men tonight because we didn't have one available, but if both us and the Salvation Army fill up then we'll open up another secondary shelter off-site," says Carol Swicker with the A.R.C.H.

Around 6 p.m. Monday, 5 school buses pulled up in front of the A.R.C.H. to pick up the overflow crowd of people who could not get into one of the shelters.

"The thing is, actually find a place out of the wind, at least out of the wind, 'cause once you're out of the wind then you get a blanket or a sleeping bag," says Arnold Kephart, a homeless man staying at the A.R.C.H. Monday night.

A.R.C.H. administrators say there are always ways the rest of the community can help those less fortunate in colder temperatures.  First of all, many churches who open their doors to house the homeless when the shelters fill up are always looking for volunteers to help.  Secondly there is always a need for blankets, hats, gloves, warm coats, especially big-size coats. 

Contact the A.R.C.H. 24-hours a day 7-days a week if you can help.