Free Winter Survival Kits: Shelters and Outreach Programs
Where to get free winter kits with socks and warm gear, plus how to find nearby shelter beds.
Free winter survival kits are free bags of warm clothing and cold-weather supplies given out by shelters and street outreach teams. People living unsheltered can get them during winter in cities such as Denver, Toronto and Portland. A winter survival kit is a backpack or bag packed for one person sleeping outside.
Contents vary by program, but socks, hats, gloves, hand warmers and snacks are common.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 04, 2026.
What is in a winter kit?
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless says its street outreach teams distribute Winter Survival kits from October through April to people living unsheltered donation needs page. Each kit includes gloves, socks, hats, scarves, lotion and hand warmers. Engage and Change packs about 3,500 backpack kits each January through Project Winter Survival Project Winter Survival page.
Each backpack holds more than 30 new items, including a sleeping bag for one person sleeping outside. In Portland, the nonprofit Blanchet House gives free winter care kits in gallon bags to meal guests daily Care Kits page. Each bag holds socks, a rain poncho, a hand warmer or gloves, wipes and snacks for wet Oregon winters.
Where do outreach teams hand out kits?
Toronto kits move through the Red Cross, Out of the Cold programs, Salvation Army, Covenant House, local shelters and outreach teams. Those groups supply more than 150 to 200 front-line agencies, so people sleeping outside can receive a kit where they already seek help. Colorado kits go directly through street outreach teams to people living unsheltered.
Teams work October through April, when nights turn cold. Portland kits go to meal guests at Blanchet House each day. A daily meal site can reach people who do not stay in overnight shelter.
How do shelters add beds in cold weather?
Federal Emergency Solutions Grants fund street outreach and emergency shelter operations and services. Cities administer the funds locally to nonprofits that run shelters and unsheltered outreach. Multnomah County maintains more than 2,000 year-round shelter beds plus overnight-only beds in Portland Care for When It's Cold guide.
People can call 211 for cold-weather resources and 311 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for city shelter placement.
Beds still fall short of need in many places. Cities often open temporary warming or severe-weather shelters only on declared cold nights, so unsheltered people must seek other warm spaces at other times.
What if your home loses heat?
Go to a designated public shelter when home heat fails. Leave before indoor temperatures turn unsafe, especially for infants, older adults and people with illness. FEMA shares that text search as a way to find the nearest designated shelter during winter storms and extreme cold.
Save 43362 in your phone before a storm arrives.
- Text SHELTER plus your ZIP code to 43362 for the nearest public shelter
- Bring medicine, phone chargers, warm layers and key papers
- Check on neighbors who live alone