Lee County said 63 people stayed overnight Wednesday into Thursday at two safe havens.
Those are not hurricane shelters. They are places where people can get out of the rain and wind. The havens serve homeless people and those who feel their homes may not be safe in the storm. One of the havens has opened at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center.
At first light on Thursday people left the gym at that center to have a smoke outside, or to stretch their legs. Forty-four people stayed at the center overnight, according to Lee County. Heather Blaha was one of them.
"I like feeling safe and out of the weather, " Blaha said. "I like having a roof over my head."
Forty-six-year-old Blaha said she's homeless, and usually throws out her sleeping bag behind some buildings along Central Avenue in Fort Myers.
"Pretty much I've learned how to pick a spot where not a lot of traffic walks through," Blaha said, explaining that at times people have bothered her when she's living out on the streets.
Lee County is operating safe havens at the recreation centers in North Fort Myers and Estero. They're not regular shelters serving meals and snacks. People said the one in North Fort Myers did have bottled waters. People bring their own cots, or toss out a sleeping bag on the gym floor.
"At least we do have a roof over our head," 35-year-old Shannon Richardson said. "But once this hurricane passes, it's back to normal."
Richardson stayed at the haven in North Fort Myers. Normal, he said, is having no home. He said he often tries to spend nights on the grounds of the library in downtown Fort Myers.
"Try to pitch a tent somewhere. But they run you off," Richardson said.
He added that he gets work when he can find it, but can't afford an apartment. He said the cheapest rent he could find is about $1,000 a month.
"People need help out here," he said. "People are struggling, they're dying, people are starving. Something's got to change."
During this storm threat, change comes from the safe havens. Collier County has three locations: Golden Gate Community Center, East Naples Community Park and North Collier Regional Park. Charlotte County has opened shelters at Kingsway Elementary School and Harold Avenue Regional Park.
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