ORLANDO, Fla. — Shelters have opened up across Central Florida, including the Salvation Army shelter in downtown Orlando.
On any given day, about 300 people stay at that shelter, but on a very cold night, it usually gets 50 to 60 more people, according to area commander for Orlando Capt. Ken Chapman. The shelter does everything it can to accommodate them, he said.
"Any time the temperature drops below 50, it gets close to 40, we make a decision to do what we call a cold night, which we suspend a lot of our normal conditions for entry into the shelter," Chapman said. "There is no charge for our services, and we make it available for anyone who needs to come in from the cold."
Orange County's main homeless shelter is the Coalition for the Homeless shelter at 18 North Terry Avenue in Orlando.
Overflow warming sites, in case the main shelters fill are at:
- Goldenrod Park Recreation Center Gymnasium at 4863 N. Goldenrod Road in Winter Park
- West Orange Recreation Center Gymnasium at 309 S. West Crown Point in Winter Garden
The shelters will be open through Monday morning, Orange County leaders say.