Mattress Mack, Joel Osteen offer warmth to Houstonians without power

HOUSTON - When disaster strikes, time and time again, Houstonians rise to the challenge to help others. It's no different during this arctic blast for two well-known Houstonians.

"We never saw this one coming," said Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church.

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Osteen opened his church as a warming shelter and Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale his Gallery Furniture stores on North Freeway and in Richmond.

"We're here for warming shelter for a couple of hours or a couple of days as all Houstonians and Texans get to this terrible storm together," said McIngvale.

Taylor Brown arrived at the store on North Freeway with her mother and siblings.

"We're just very grateful and warm. They're giving us food. We can charge our phones," Brown said.

Her family lost power on Monday afternoon.

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"I'm not really scared. It's just like we're cold," she said tearfully. "We've never experienced something like this." 

More than 1,000 individuals were able to seek power, hot meals, and warmth. Roughly 400 stayed overnight.

At Lakewood Church, as of Tuesday afternoon, nearly 200 people took refuge -- from the elderly to young children. 

"We'll keep it open as long as we need. We won't turn anybody away," said Osteen. 

Church volunteers and staff offered snacks and screened people for COVID-19 as they arrived. 

"We just feel so blessed that we have this facility and that it is so large that we can accommodate a lot of people," added Osteen. 

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Osteen says the church does not need additional supplies.

At Gallery Furniture, Mattress Mack welcomes donations of blankets and non-perishable food for his guests. Anyone who is able can drop off donations at one of his stores.