Shelter from the Cold for Fort Pierce Homeless

Though the winter started out warm in late 2009, It has arrived late and in full force for much of the country, and has not spared Florida from the chill. Record lows last month gave many little more than a little extra laundry, but for the homeless, cold weather presents a severe problem.

Fort Pierce has a substantial homeless population, and while many are in shelters already, those who find themselves outdoors on these cool nights sometimes find themselves with nowhere to go. TC Palm writer Anthony Westbury commented recently on a group of volunteers and staff at Mustard Seed Ministries who have opened a cold night shelter in the Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in downtown Fort Pierce. He mentions in both his blog and his column on the subject that the city is falling behind and relying on an institution with a "shoestring budget" to attend to this problem annually. With lows nearing the mid 30's this week, Mustard Seed will be at it again.

I cannot help but to agree with Westbury on this topic. I myself have walked around the downtown area on cold and windy winter nights distributing blankets to those without shelter. Some of the nights, the city chose not to open a cold night shelter because of costs or other reasons when temperatures neared, but did not quite reach freezing. I also know the struggles Mustard Seed has in coming up with food and basic necessities for all of these people. They support people year-round and really don't have the budget for extra expenses.

Where is the city of Fort Pierce in this? I mean we build the Fenn Center, spend thousands of dollars on medians in U.S. 1 that make driving impossible, spend more money to take said medians back out and put in a bike lane 10 miles west of town that no one uses, but we can't warm the cold? Every year an impromptu shelter is thrown together, and every year there is a substantial attendance of homeless. The city seems to do little more than throw in a few cots. As for the "if you build it they will come mentality", the problem is simply not going to go away. I've handed out blankets for at least 3 years, and have always exhausted my supply. Unfortunately I've even had a lot of repeat customers. I think it's time that the city reaches out to help the less fortunate shake off the cold.