On Thursday morning, as more than 100 homeless residents gathered up their belongings and concluded their stay at the downtown St. Paul Union Depot, Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies served them breakfast provided by the Spire Credit Union and Cassie’s Deli & Catering Lowertown.

On Wednesday, the morning meal — apple juice and Egg McMuffin sandwiches — came from the McDonald’s on Suburban Avenue.

The goal was to make a deadly cold snap just a little easier for the metro’s most vulnerable population.

And the venue — Ramsey County’s expansive and historic transit hub — was a telling example of how public transit stations and vehicles have become de facto homeless shelters during this week’s severe cold weather.

By 8 each morning, the homeless were back on the street, or on the light rail.

At Ramsey County’s Union Depot transit hub, a Catholic Charities worker interviews homeless residents for the Winter Safe Space, a 64-bed shelter on Kellogg Boulevard. A homeless man naps in the corner. Deputies-in-training socialize with residents after handing out donuts. pic.twitter.com/zTELmFrcyD — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 1, 2019

Throughout back-to-back days of subzero weather, Ramsey County worked closely with Catholic Charities’ new Higher Ground shelter, which offers more than 300 beds across from the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

In addition, this is the second year the county and the city of St. Paul jointly operate a downtown Winter Safe Space on Kellogg Boulevard, with 64 beds available by referral from police.

It’s still not enough.

“We had two transport vans looking for persons that were unsheltered,” said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher on Thursday, in an interview. “We were picking them up and bringing them to the Union Depot. We did refer 40 people (to shelters) Tuesday night, but we still had 109 who were unable to find beds.”

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher addresses trainees before they serve the homeless overnight at the St. Paul Union Depot. Deputy sheriffs hand out donuts. “At least the county takes care of us,” says Robert Perry, sitting in red hat. pic.twitter.com/syzB7L4dn7 — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 1, 2019

At Fletcher’s request, the county manager’s office agreed to open the Union Depot for overnight stays again Thursday, the third night in a row that the train and bus terminal provided emergency services on donated blankets, with apples and sandwiches from the county detention center.

“Our first choice is the Winter Safe Space or other shelter,” said John Siqveland, a county spokesman. “But for the past two nights, they’ve been at capacity.”

For a dozen Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies and additional officers from Metro Transit’s Homeless Action Team, the past few days were an emotional journey.

Some of the homeless arrive directly from Regions Hospital, where they’ve already been treated for frostbite. Others come in off the Green Line, which stops outside the depot on Fourth Street. They’ve been riding all day.

He was ok with having his picture taken. A man across the aisle was not. #homelessonthelightrail pic.twitter.com/0ALqAbajHK — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) January 25, 2019

Metro Transit Sgt. Brooke Blakey, who leads the transit provider’s overnight Homeless Action Team, greets them with donated hats, socks and hand-warmers.

“She knows virtually everyone walking in the door,” Fletcher said. “But also it’s been an educational process for our sheriff’s deputies. I think all of them had left in the morning feeling impacted. The larger question is what’s next — what steps do we take to make sure these 119 have a safe place to sleep moving forward?”

Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputies mingle with homeless residents who bide their time at the Union Depot transit hub in downtown St. Paul. Rather than clear them out at 2 a.m., the county housed 100 homeless at the depot each of the past two nights due to sub-zero temperatures. pic.twitter.com/jjGBVd01rz — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 1, 2019

Over the past two decades, on average “there’s only 11 days a year that the temperature is minus 5 or below,” Fletcher said. “At a bare minimum, we ought to be able to provide emergency housing when it’s below zero. … We would like to see some progress on this.”

In a written statement, Catholic Charities senior program manager Chris Michels said the collaboration with Ramsey County and multiple law enforcement agencies has been critical.

“We look forward to continuing our work together on long-term solutions, and hope for a time when emergency response like this isn’t necessary,” Michels said.