FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – As temperatures drop across South Florida, Sean Cononie and his team at The Homeless Voice are ramping up efforts to assist those living on the streets.
“We’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Cononie said Thursday as he and his team prepared to distribute blankets, socks, and other essentials to unhoused individuals across Broward County.
“Underneath the bridges, bus stops, stuff like that,” Cononie explained. “Homeless people are in frail health to begin with. A lot of them aren’t going to go to the cold-weather shelter because of disabilities and so forth, so we’ve got to go to where they are.”
The Salvation Army in Fort Lauderdale has put out dozens of cots in hallways to expand that capacity, but still must turn people away.
Unfortunately we’re at full capacity right now,” said David Hayton with the Salvation Army. “People started coming after lunch time seeking refuge, asking if there would be anything we could do for them this evening, anywhere they could stay.”
Women and families can also seek refuge at Hope South Florida.
As colder weather settles in, Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan is urging residents to exercise caution with heating equipment, particularly space heaters.
“When it comes to their home, and heating their home, it’s always a challenge. Here in South Florida, we’re not used to these colder temperatures,” Gollan said.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, heating equipment caused nearly 39,000 house fires in a recent year, with space heaters accounting for nearly one-third of those fires.
“Preferably, we’d like them to have the newer standards on them, so if they get knocked over, then they shut off,” Gollan advised. “Never, ever plug your space heater into an extension cord, or have the cord running underneath a carpet, or anything like that.”
Most heating-related house fires occur between December and February, officials said, emphasizing the need for safety as South Florida faces an unseasonably cold stretch.