Tallahassee’s cold night shelters will remain open Tuesday night. Officials predict they’ll have to re-open them over the next few months, as the temperature continues to drop.
Jacob Reiter, the Executive Director of The Shelter at the Kearney Center, says since winter began, they’ve been open for four nights, including Tuesday night.
“Last year, we did about 38 cold nights,” he said. “So, by the end of the winter, it will probably be somewhere between 25 and 40. So, I think we might be open again sometime next week. It’s looking like it will drop again next week.”
And, this time, he says they’re in a better location.
“For like the past five years, we needed to provide cold night shelter off site in our previous location…the facility was too small,” he added. “And, so, we had to bus people to some partnering churches. And, so, now that we’ve moved to this new location, 2650 Municipal Way, we’re able to have everybody here in one location, which is a huge plus.”
The Shelter at Kearney Center is partnering with Family Emergency Shelter coordinated by the Big Bend Homeless Coalition to provide the temporary cold night shelters.
“On designated cold nights, when it’s 35 degrees or below, we want to make sure that the community is aware that we’re going to be really cold, hazardous to people’s health, and we provide extra oversight for anyone in need,” Reiter continued.
The Shelter on Municipal Way is open to single male or female adults. Dinner is at 7 p.m. and sleeping assignments start at 8 p.m.
The Family Emergency Shelter at HOPE Community on 2729 Pensacola Street is for families with children. Dinner is at 5 p.m. and sleeping assignments start at 7 p.m.
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