PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Organizations across the Tampa Bay Area are preparing for the cold night and getting ready to open their doors to people who are homeless.
"It's critical that they come…last year we had one of our regulars pass away at a bus stop because of hypothermia. It just got too cold," said Christine Bond with Saint Vincent DePaul.
WATCH: Pinellas County cold night shelters open ahead of temperature drop
Bond said cold weather is not something to mess with.
"It's harsh, being in the elements is harsh and especially cold nights it's even worse…so it's tough to witness for sure," said Bond.
That's why she spent the morning helping cold night shelters get ready for the drop in temperature.
"I delivered some food to another partner organization that provides food and then First United Methodist where a cold night shelter is in Clearwater, we provided blankets to them," she said.
She dropped off 72 blankets at the First United Methodist Church in Clearwater, where Reverend Allee Wood is preparing.
"We've had teams that are gathering blankets and making sure we have enough mats and ready to go at a moment's notice…we just didn't expect it to be so quick," said Rev. Wood.
The shelter can hold up to 100 people…and will provide a mat to sleep on, blankets, and a warm meal.
Rev. Wood announced Sunday night that the church is turning into a cold night shelter.
"There was this great sigh of relief like thank goodness…they know. They read all the same things we do, that it's going to be cold and they were starting to get nervous about that," she said.
There are four other shelters with the Homeless Leadership Alliance available in Pinellas, including the First United Methodist Church of Pinellas Park, the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Salvation Army and the Boys and Girls Club of Tarpon Springs.
Rev. Wood hopes people take advantage of it.
"This is life-saving work that we get to do and it provides people with a little bit of dignity and safety. Sometimes this is the only safe place that folks had to sleep a given week," said Rev. Wood.
People can start showing up at the shelters at 6 p.m. on Monday and can stay through 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
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