Warming shelters to open this weekend as cooler weather makes its way to Southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. — With cooler weather on its way, warming shelters will soon be opening their doors.

The homeless population make up a large group that use these shelters and Wednesday marked National Homeless Persons Remembrance Day. A night and time of year that can be a little hard for the less fortunate.

“These are people who are lost in our community and unless we honor them, nobody else will.”

It’s a night of honoring those who have passed in the homeless community.

“It stays fairly consistent each year,” says Pat Epifinio, a faith care nurse at All Souls Episcopal Church. “We lose about between 20 and 25 people every year.”

As candles are lit and names are read aloud in their remembrance.

“It’s very sad that people have to be alone and maybe not warm or have no place to go to with nobody else to love them,” said Lori Uhrig, a faith care nurse at St. Hilary’s Church. “How fortunate I am and the life that I live compared to what they’ve been through.”

It’s also shedding a light on a growing issue in the area.

“There are an awful lot of people this year who are not going to be where they would have liked to have been,” said Epifinio.

Where that would be is in a home. Or, even for some, a public warming shelter.

“Certainly there is a significant number of the homeless population that’s new to our area within the last 12 months,” said Ray Steadman, Vice President of Programs with St. Matthew’s House.

At St. Matthew’s House, preparations are being made.

“When you look at the temperatures that we’re about to see, I would expect that we’re going to see a significant number of folks come in and actually shelter with us throughout this cold snap.”

A cold snap that will cause the shelter to open its doors Friday at 8. And they’re fully prepared to go beyond.

“We will be open as long as the temperature is at or below around 50 degrees,” said Steadman. “So probably within the next 4 or 5 to 6 nights, it’s still going to be open.”

So that there are less names read aloud at next year’s vigil.

“At least we can care and keep their memory alive a little bit,” said Uhrig.

St. Matthew’s House is opening its two homeless shelters tomorrow night through at least the next week as temperatures drop. The shelters are located at the Campbell Lodge in Naples and the Immokalee Friendship House. They’ll be open from 8 p.m. — 5:30 a.m.

They’ll be providing beds, blankets, snacks and coffee. Guests are screened before they can enter to make sure there is no violent criminal history.

Other cold weather shelters opening this weekend are the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition in Port Charlotte and 100 Church in North Port on Tamiami Trail. They’re both open Friday through Sunday nights.