Mission provides warm place for homeless folks

Just before lunch was served at the New Testament Church and Mission, several people walked in bundled up in their winter coats and sweaters and had a hot cup of coffee. James Downs, a 63-year-old construction worker, was one of them.

"This is about the only place in Highlands County where you can get a hot meal and a warm bed," Downs said.

With temperatures dropping to the 30s this week, many residents have called the mission concerned for the homeless who are exposed to near freezing temperatures.

Downs recalls that several years ago he met some homeless people who lived in tents in the woods. When it got cold they made a fire to warm up, he said.

"Sometimes the weather plays a big factor in peoples lives," Katie Morales, the mission's secretary, said.

This week many have stopped by the mission to escape the cold, even if it's just for an hour or two.

"They come in and take a nap, have a cup of hot coffee that's always brewing," said Matthew Chapman, volunteer.

Morales received several calls Tuesday morning from residents wanting to donate winter clothes and blankets. Others called with information on areas where the mission could bring blankets and sweaters to the homeless.

"Most of them got to the mission before we could get to them," Morales said.

The mission is a year-round shelter for the homeless. When it is filled to capacity the county will open the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agricultural Center as an emergency shelter, said Bill Nichols, emergency management director for Highlands County Emergency Operations Center.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office has not received many calls for homeless assistance.

"There is no overwhelming need to transport the homeless to shelters. But with these consecutive days of cold it may increase," said Capt. Paul Blackman.

The county has been on standby since Dec. 31, but so far the mission has five beds open for men and two for women.

"If I had nowhere else to go I would come back here," Downs said.