“We slept on the floor”: Memphis father shares family’s week inside a warming center as staff stepped up to provide necessities
MEMPHIS, Tenn — When Gerald Driver packed up his family and hit the road ahead of last week’s winter storm, he thought he was making the safest choice.
Instead, a blown radiator left Driver, his wife, and their three children stranded and spending the past seven days inside the Ed Rice Community Center in Frayser, now operating as a 24-hour warming center.
“We ain’t here looking for nothing free,” Driver said. “Just going through hard times. Going through hard times.”
Driver said his family, along with roughly 10 to 15 others, slept on the floor. His children are 12, 9, and just 1 year old.
Memphis officials report 31 people were initially in that center.
“We slept on the floor from Friday ’till today,” Driver said on Wednesday night, Jan. 28. “Me and my wife, a 12-year-old, 9-year-old, and a 1-year-old.”
He said the center initially had limited supplies, relying on shelf-stable snacks and bottled water.
“Since Friday, the only thing the staff had … were: tortilla chips, beef sticks and fruit cups,” Driver said. “Oh, and queso cheese dip. That’s what we were surviving off of; and bottled waters.”
Driver said his family had not been able to take a hot shower and did not receive cots or regular hot meals until several days into their stay.
Despite the shortages, he said the staff at Ed Rice went above and beyond, coordinating with other centers and even cooking meals at their own homes before bringing them in.
“They didn’t have to do that,” Driver said. “They cooked it at their home. Then they came here and used the stove here and bought their own food and made meals for us.”
The City of Memphis said it has shelf-stable food available at all warming centers because of the emergency situation and that, based on city testing, the water at all three 24-hour centers is hot. Officials said the system expanded rapidly as the storm worsened, and additional needs became apparent.
According to the city, as of Wednesday, Jan. 28, all three 24-hour emergency centers – Ed Rice, Orange Mound, and Hickory Hill – have been supplied with cots and blankets. In total, Memphis is operating seven community centers and 14 libraries as warming centers.
The city also shared a social media post encouraging residents to bring their own supplies when possible.
Across Memphis, residents said the storm has tested patience and mobility.
“I think people are getting a little stir crazy,” one resident said. “The neighbors are wanting to get out of the house a little bit. Wherever you can go safely, but it’s not really safe out there.”
For Driver, the experience has been defined more by people than by policy.
As he waits to figure out the next steps for his family, he said he will not forget the staff members who stepped in when they saw a need long before the system fully caught up.