South Florida homeless community worried about mid-week cold snap
MIAMI - Some of the coldest air of the season will arrive mid-week in South Florida, and those experiencing homelessness are bracing for the plunge in temperatures.
Temperatures on Wednesday morning are forecast to be in the upper 40s.
"It is something to be concerned (about) because you know, being out on the streets in that cold it's not good, I mean you won't be able to function," said Paula Berrios.
Berrios said she's been living on the streets for years and when it gets cold, she always looks for a warm place to stay.
"With me, I'll approach a police (officer) and ask them, 'Say look, do you guys have an emergency place to go to be off the streets, due to the cold weather?'," said Berrios.
There are organizations, like the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, who send out crews to bring in those living on the streets during those brutally cold nights.
"When we bring people in, and in particular during cold weather snaps, we work extraordinarily hard to really move people longer term off the streets and we track every single individual that comes in and we get reports for the several weeks afterward, we monitor how many people were retaining," said Ron Book, chairman of Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.
As volunteers prepare to assist those living on the streets this week, those needing help like Aviancs Simmons said she's concerned about the new Florida law that can lead to arrests for those sleeping in public areas.
"Where are we going to go, pretty much? We just have to find more places to go, more beds maybe, I really don't know the answer to it," said Simmons.
Simmons said while she feels supported by police and community advocates, she fears for her future with this new legislation as she struggles to get off the streets and into permanent housing.
"It's intimidating, we just have to learn how to juggle everything again," said Simmons.
