PETALUMA, CA. – The North Bay is expected to experience freezing temperatures before the atmospheric river flows in late Tuesday.

A freeze warning for the region comes into effect from midnight to 8am on Tuesday.

It’s a particularly difficult time for the most vulnerable in this community trying to get inside.

Redwood Gospel Mission in Santa Rosa says this is the only emergency shelter in Sonoma County. It works with 30 churches in the region to house as many people as possible.

As temperatures dip toward freezing Monday night, the need for a warm place to stay increases.

“It’s nice and warm in the church. Afterwards you get a nice hot meal,” says resident Mike Swim.

Swim has spent the past month at the shelter and volunteers to serve others.

“It feels good because I’m also the one who hands out clothes to them three days a week, so I make sure they have extra clothes and extra warm socks,” he said. “I’m here during the day looking for a job, I’ve been wet.”

Each evening, the nonprofit turns the chapel into an overflow space for up to 20 additional people.

“We’re going into winter and not only are we seeing cold weather, but we’re also seeing torrential rain forecast, and those are just as dangerous, especially for people who think they can find shelter in a creek, under a bridge,” he said. Redwood Gospel Mission Executive Director Jeff Gilman. “We wanted to be there to provide that safety for them.”

“It could be life or death. We know, we’ve lost friends, we’ve lost people we know in the cold,” he added.

Sonoma County is also home to many farmers. The cold conditions can be dangerous for animals, but also for vegetation and crops.

“We all have to take care of our animals and anticipate what’s going to happen. This weather wasn’t there a few days ago, it just suddenly showed up,” said Mike Weber of Weber Family Farms.

Weber’s Family Farms owns more than 300,000 chickens and a few hundred sheep that stay indoors.

“They have a shed that they go in and they all huddle together and it has a lot of wool on it, so it keeps them nice and warm,” he said. “The chickens are doing fine, we are adjusting the ventilation so that we draw less cool air into the building and the temperature remains moderate at 70-75 degrees.”