ORLANDO, Fla. — Several organizations across Central Florida are stepping up to keep people without a steady, warm place to stay as the area experiences the season's first cold snap.

Temperatures overnight hit the mid-40s in some areas, and that prompted organizations like SALT Outreach, a nonprofit that provides services to the unsheltered, to distribute warm clothing and blankets to people experiencing homelessness.

What You Need To Know

  • Temperatures overnight dropped into the mid-40s for some areas of Central Florida 
     
  • Most local warming centers don't open unless temperatures drop below 40 degrees for more than four hours

  •  SALT Outreach is asking for donated clothing or monetary gifts to help buy warm clothing and blankets to be distributed to the unsheltered

  •  SALT increased clothing distributions from one day to five days a week to help accommodate the growing need

  • Officials say even if warming centers opened, there is not enough capacity to meet the need

Organization leaders say the weather has not been cold enough to prompt Orange County to open extra shelters, so they're doing their best to provide as many resources as possible.

Many cold weather shelters only open if the temperatures drop below 40 degrees for more than four hours. 

“Typically, we’ll limit one item, like a top and bottom per person, but during these times, we are increasing, and we’re providing more items just to make sure that people can just bundle up a little bit more since a lot of our clients can’t stay at a shelter due to capacity,” said SALT Outreach director Kathleem Jorge.

Layering clothing is one way to help keep people warm, so the organization expanded its clothing distribution from just Sundays to five days a week during colder weather, Jorge said.

Workers at SALT are extremely grateful for everything the community has already given, but Jorge said she would like people who are willing, or able, to look through their closets and consider donating items to help with the growing need.

"Just a lot of people are coming on a daily basis asking for blankets or anything that they could use to cover up," she said. "Unfortunately, you know, we give what we have, but of course, we have a limited amount of those items, and as soon as we get them donated, they kind of just go out."

Individuals who do not have clothing to donate can volunteer to help organize the items that have been provided or to distribute them, Jorge said.

For more information, visit the SALT Outreach website.