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QUINCY, ILL. -- With the snow and cold temperatures we've been having, you might think the homeless shelters in the area would be full.

But one local shelter is barely at half capacity

Quincy University's North Campus is temporarily home to the Salvation Army's emergency shelter. A lot of their decisions have to do with the weather... especially when it comes to some of their rules.

"We kind of do a day by day thing. People are in-taking to the shelter hopefully before the 10 o'clock period before 10 PM. But if anybody does come to the door after hours, generally we allow them into the shelter. It's cold," says Prather.

But the Salvation Army's emergency shelter actually sees more people when it's warm outside.

"In the summer months, I definitely see an increase in people accessing shelter. I would assume that it's weather, looking for cooling, looking for an environment that is comfortable. In the winter, it's more of a steady flow," said Salvation Army's shelter director Heidi Prather.

There are generally 6 or 7 people that stay the night in the old dorm building...which is about half the capacity. Clients used to get discharged at the 30 day mark, but the Salvation Army found it difficult to secure housing and long term employment for them in just thirty days.

"We make that decision individually based on whatever a person's certain circumstances are. We really try to problem solve what it is that caused or created the homelessness situation," said Prather.

That way less people return to the shelters months down the road.

The Salvation Army will be at QU's North Campus until the new shelter catty corner to the Kroc Center is done.