It's not just the northeastern part of the U.S. that is struggling with severe winter weather. Much of the country continues to be gripped by freezing temperatures. More than a dozen deaths so far have been linked to the brutal conditions. CGTN's Dan Williams has this report from Chicago.

A snow-capped picture postcard of Chicago. A record breaking cold has gripped the city since Christmas. The rivers have long frozen over as temperatures plummeted to minus twenty-six degrees Celsius That's minus 14 degrees Fahrenheit. And that's before factoring in the wind-chill. (Welcome along to WGN Radio as the big freeze continues here in Chicago)

The weather continues to dominate local news headlines. And it makes the work of charities like this one all the more important. (God bless you all, god bless you all)

A Salvation Army soup run stops off at some 26 locations around the city. For some, this will be the key meal of the day.

RICHARD VARGAS DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES, SALVATION ARMY "Essential, difficult but necessary. Because you find that when it's cold out on the street, that is when you are going to find the people who really need the services. Because those are the individuals not getting help. Those are the individuals who are not going to go to certain places to get assistance. But if they can find us on the street, surely we can help them from that standpoint."

Across the city, an even more vulnerable group, the city's homeless, struggle to stay warm.

DAN WILLIAMS CHICAGO "This area, under one of the main streets in Chicago, is known as the triangle. It is utterly freezing. And those here have had to endure consecutive days of extreme weather conditions."

The Night Ministry is a Chicago-based organization that provides housing and health care to those who call the streets home.

SANDRA COLLINS NURSE PRACTITIONER, THE NIGHT MINISTRY "We have to check on people all of the time because the cold makes people hypothermic. They are not thinking clearly. They are not sure what is going on. We see pneumonia at this time of year, sinus infections, and like I say, they don't get treated until it is absolutely too late as they don't want to go to the hospital and have their things taken."

I meet Alford. He says he has been clean of drugs for four days and is now determined to get off the street. His message is a plea for more help.

ALFORD CHICAGO HOMELESS MAN "It's very cold down here. It really is very, very cold. I believe the city needs to do a whole lot more for people that are down here. Get people into drug addiction places and also, there's a lot of mental patients down here man. Right now with this freezing weather, it's very hectic."

For some, the bitter freeze, brings inconvenience and delay. But for others, it is quite simply a matter of life and death. Dan Williams CGTN Chicago.