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TARPON SPRINGS — Looking ahead to the winter months, city officials are searching for a location to house the homeless when temperatures start to drop.
For the last 23 years, First United Methodist Church on East Tarpon Avenue has opened its doors when the thermometer dipped to 40 degrees and lower. But because of a renovation project at the church, it can no longer provide the facility.
"It's essential we get something in place by the end of the this month," said Tom Henderson, president of the Tarpon Alliance for Humanity, a community group of local leaders and faith-based organizations working to prevent and end homelessness.
"It's very, very important," said Pat Weber, director of Tarpon Springs Housing Authority and a member of the alliance. "When temperatures get to where people can die in the weather, it's important that people have a place to go.
"We've had a cold night shelter in Tarpon Springs for a long time and as a community, we should all pull together to ensure that there is a place."
Several locations have been considered, including All Saints Episcopal Church on Keystone Road, where officials offered their building, but the location is deemed unsuitable for the target population.
"We need something more local and in town," Henderson said.
Officials toured the city's old fire station at 325 E Lemon St. and found the location and building a major possibility.
"As far as I'm concerned, the community would have to go in and clean it up because it's mostly scuzzy looking," said Michael Amidei, the cold night shelter coordinator for Pinellas County who took a tour of the building. "The space is suitable, but if we can get some people in there to clean it up, we are good to go."
City Manager Mark LeCouris said the city is agreeable to using the building as a cold night shelter, but that there are no funds to help bring the facility up to par. LeCouris said it would be great if residents with specific skills such as carpentry volunteered their services.
The place needs to be cleaned, some sort of portable heating system must be brought in and the bathrooms need upgrading, LeCouris said.
"That's what it's going to take, a group of volunteers from the community," LeCouris said. "As you can see, in these tough economic times, funding is hard to come by."
Amidei said any location would need to include kitchen space and heat. He said mats and blankets are available. A laundry room and showers would be a big plus.
The cold night shelter in Tarpon Springs serves all those in north Pinellas County, Amidei said. Beginning Nov. 15, about two weeks earlier than normal, the shelter will open whenever the temperature reaches 40 degrees or lower.
"Our numbers doubled last year," Amidei said. "Anytime you double a shelter population there is concern."
Amidei said last year the average number of people using the cold night shelter jumped from 20 to the mid 40s. He also said the population tends to be older and consists of 80 percent men.
Tarpon Springs Commissioner Robin Saenger said the cold night shelter "is something that the city wants to be proactive" with.
"It's tremendously important," Saenger said. "We don't want to have one death to the cold. We want to make sure we take care of people who are struggling."
Demorris A. Lee can be reached at dalee@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4174.
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