At 80, Gayle Freeland is struggling to keep a roof over her head.

The retired welder said her Social Security check only allows her to rent a motel room, at most, for two weeks, and then she is on the street trying to find a doorway or some other place to sleep.

That’s why Ms. Freeland was grateful to learn that she could find a warm space to spend the night at the newly opened RVA Sister’s Keeper shelter at 2807 Hull St. The South Side location was formerly the New Pathways counseling center.

Ms. Freeland was among the early arrivals at the 40-bed shelter for women and women with children that partners Kia Player, a licensed therapist, and Gerri Archer, a real estate agent, have opened, with a promise of city financial support.

“We just wanted to help people,” Ms. Archer said. The shelter provides cots to sleep on and provides guests with two meals and counseling to assist in getting them off the street.

The shelter operates from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. when nighttime temperatures drop below 40 degrees, which is predicted to be the case through most of the rest of November, according to weather.com’s extended forecast. Lows were forecast to be in the 20s through Tuesday, Nov. 22, and to be in the 30s and low 40s through Tuesday, Nov. 29.

RVA Sister’s Keeper shelter is one of two city-supported temporary shelters that opened Sunday night when temperatures dropped into the low 30s, expanding hous- ing options for people on the street trying to avoid freezing to death.

United Nations Church is operating the second, a 60-bed shelter for single men located in the gymnasium at Wall and West 19th streets. That facility also opened Sunday night.

The church, led by Bishop Orin K. Pullings Sr., volunteered to house homeless people in October when there was a cold snap and agreed to continue operations.

Both RVA Sister’s Keeper and United Nations Church were listed as city partners for shelters, but were not supposed to open until the city found additional operating funds. The only space that the Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration told City Council that it planned to initially fund was a shelter that Commonwealth Catholic Charities proposed operate at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave.

According to the city, CCC was to receive more than $600,000 to operate a 60-bed shelter at that location.

However, with the city acknowledging that it could be January before CCC might open the space, officials made urgent calls to RVA Sister’s Keeper and United Nations Church, which agreed to open as temporary shelters.

Whether those shelters will be large enough remains a question. Few people showed up at either location, a spot check indicated. Council President Cynthia I. Newbille expects more people will seek shelter at the two locations as bitter night time cold arrives.

Other nonprofit shelters, such as those Caritas and Salvation Army operate, reportedly are full, and early estimates from homeless advocates suggested that a minimum of 150 beds might be needed to handle the potential demand.