Homeless shelters brace for freezing temps
A little more than a dozen people roamed North Terry Avenue in Parramore on Saturday, much fewer than normal as people experiencing homelessness and shelters prepare for freezing temperatures.
The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for 1-9 a.m. Sunday, with “sub-freezing temperatures as low as 26 expected” in 10 counties, including Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake and Volusia.
Outside the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida facility on North Terry Avenue, people in two pickup trucks belonging to the Wake Up Missionary Church were handing out lunch to those hanging out there.
Others also stopped to distribute goods to the people waiting outside the facility, including a group of about 15 people from
Teens United Florida who passed out food and warm clothes that had been collected from donation drives ahead of what was expected to be a bitterly cold night.
“People here need it the most, and so we come as a group to come help out,” said Justin Le, the group’s chapter president. “I grew up in not the best conditions, and so I understand why they need the help and how hard it is to get the materials they need. There aren’t a lot of organizations out here helping out this underrepresented community.”
Homeless shelters and churches in the area have opened to help those living in homelessness escape from the cold, with some organizations expanding their capacities to meet community demand.
Last weekend’s cold snap reportedly saw more than 200 people stay in shelters
in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, numbers which are likely to repeat themselves this weekend, Martha Are, CEO of Homeless Services Network of Central Florida told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week. More than 5,500 people are reportedly homeless in those three counties in 2021, according to HSN data.
“I’m just trying to stay warm and out of the hospital,” said Charles Glaspy, who unlike others waiting for supplies on North Terry Avenue, plans on staying with his mom on Rio Grande Avenue, where he has stayed while looking for work. “I thank God I can live to see another day. He will make a way for me.”
In Orange County, the Coalition for the Homeless and the Salvation Army are open to people in need, while the First United Methodist Church of St. Cloud and the Solid Rock Community Church in Kissimmee are open in Osceola along with the Ramada Kissimmee Gateway Inn.
The Rescue Outreach Mission in Seminole, as well as the Lifepointe Church in Eustis and the Solid Rock Worship Center in Lake, are also welcoming those who need a warm place to stay.
As shelters overflow, the organizations that run them have arranged hotel stays for people in need. Lynx and LakeXpress are offering free transportation to help people get to those shelters safely.
Randolph Powell, a homeless Valencia College student, said he’s escaping the cold at a hotel on International Drive. Though he stood outside the North Terry Avenue shelter, he said he would soon hop on a bus to weather the night.
“No mumble and no grumble from me,” he said. “Everyone out here’s got a good heart, and they’re supporting a lot of people like me.”