TAMPA, Fla. — This World Homeless Day, Central and Southwest Florida shelters are seeing more people look to them for help following Hurricane Ian. Now those shelters are preparing for what the coming months could look like.
Stefanie Edwards is the Community Cooperative CEO. It's a Fort Myers-based nonprofit focused on feeding and housing people in need.
"The impacts of Hurricane Ian are unprecedented in this community," Edwards said. "I don't know that anybody in our community is prepared and ready for what it's going to look like putting it back together."
Help is pouring in for Community Cooperative.
Tampa Bay Window Shades sent five trucks worth of donations days after the storm, which was much-needed help for the shelter that quickly became a hub for people in need.
"We've been up and running since Thursday after the storm," Edwards said. "We were blessed many years ago with the big old generator, which kicked right on the minute our power went out."
Edwards said they've seen a large increase in need, specifically for food, early on.
"Our numbers there with hot food out the door have been four times as much as a normal day," she continued. "Our pantry and our emergency food programs, I can't even tell you. I think we've been serving, on average, about 2,500 people a day."
The next step is focusing on long-term assistance.
"We had a really tough housing market before, and now the inventory is going to be way less. I'm fearful for what that's going to look like for us," Edwards said.
As resources wear thin in Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay could see many people coming our way in search of relief.
Christine Long is the Chief of Programs for Metropolitan Ministries. She said Tampa Bay could become a welcome home for people displaced by the storm.
"It's very typical that shortly after a storm, people are looking to relocate, especially storms that are relatively close like this one," Long said.
Metropolitan Ministries is already helping people impacted by Ian.
"We're going to be definitely maximizing our shelter and housing space that we have," Long continued. "Also looking at motels, and then support for families while they're in motels."
People looking for more long-term shelter could happen within the next month or two.
In the meantime, Community Cooperative is taking donations to continue helping those most in need.
"What's going to happen next as we evolve into our recovery effort here is money," Long said. "It's going to be the long-term help to getting people back on track."
Community Cooperative is collecting donations. You can find more information here. You can find more information to donate to Metropolitan Ministries here.
