Vicksburg’s community of givers should take note of the weather today and Thursday, then ponder needed missions of charity in town.

Forecasts have bounced over and through the freezing mark for high temperatures these next two days, but here’s the bottom line for tonight — last night’s light freeze will turn hard by nightfall. Lows are expected to be around 15 degrees, with a wind chill that might get into single digits with Jack Frost whipping at around 25 mph. That’s the kind of temperature extreme that keeps illnesses around. But another ill needs addressing, thanks to the weather.

Vicksburg has three established shelters for adults in varying degrees of homelessness. There’s Women’s Restoration Shelter and Faith House, which house and offer life coaching to women and families who find themselves on the street. There’s River City Rescue Mission, which offers a place to stay and spiritual guidance to men in the same station in life. It’s been around longer than the first two, thus, it’s alone among the three that has consistently converted to a cold weather shelter when the mercury takes a dip. It can hold 65 people, though space is tight. The executive director says 46 are already staying there heading into tonight’s version of the polar vortex.

Salvation Army chapters, known for having cold-weather shelters in large cities, don’t often have chapters in small ones. There’s been one here in Vicksburg for years, but it’s not a cold weather shelter. It’s unrealistic to think those who haven’t found their way into an established shelter will have a way to get to Jackson to stay warm for the night.

It’s a worthier pursuit to hope blighted property turns into sturdy, contributing structures of private investment. That means market-rate rentals and homes for sale that won’t break someone’s budget to rent or own. But, there’s plenty of abandoned, unused property in Vicksburg and Warren County that needs to become productive. Of course, that takes money to make them habitable for even one cold night.

For people without a place to stay, regardless of gender, family size or anything else, that cold night is here. And here’s a little-covered news item in many communities across the U.S. — people who die without the ability to pay for a funeral due to unreachable next of kin, general poverty or homelessness are often buried at the taxpayers’ expense by cities and counties. It happens in Warren County a few times a year. It’s referred to as a “pauper burial.”

The hope is that perhaps someone will convert an abandoned space into a lifesaver for those far less fortunate.