HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — As the temperature dips, Pastor Dr. Reba Haley is readying a warm place for folks to rest their head.
"They receive a warm meal, a blanket, a cot, and a lot of love and a lot of empathy and a lot of compassion,” said Dr. Haley.
Tampa Bay Mission of Hope in Valrico partners with Hillsborough County as a cold weather shelter.
Haley knows what it's like to be in the people they serve's shoes.
"I've been there as a woman, as a single woman with a child, going through a domestic violence and a divorce, I've been homeless sleeping in my car,” said Haley. “I know this. I know this life."
It's one of a handful of cold weather shelters in Hillsborough County, where organizers expect high demand with limited capacity.
“We've never seen it four days in a row, so we're believing we're going to be full,” said Dr. Haley.
Guests there come in for sanctuary and leave with a bag of necessities.
"They get a comfortable, safe place to sleep. They can talk to people at the churches or at the community organizations, but also if there's a veteran that's in the shelter or there's a family, we'll get them connected to the resources, so the next day, they can follow up with those respective resources,” said Felicia Crosby-Rucker, Hillsborough County's Director for Homeless and Community Services.
Crosby-Rucker explained the face of homelessness may not always be what you expect.
"There are people out there that have mental health and substance abuse issues, but they're also the schoolteacher that's in the classroom, the person that's in the cubicle next to you."
Crosby-Rucker said they need more faith-based and community partners that have space that want to be a cold weather shelter partner, while also looking at the bigger picture.
"We know that to end homelessness or reduce homelessness in our community, we need access to housing, and the government can't do it alone, but we feel like if we leverage that partnership, we can definitely make a difference,” said Crosby-Rucker.
You can find a list of cold weather shelters in the Tampa Bay Area here.
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