JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With below or near freezing temps across Northeast Florida early Wednesday morning, the Sulzbacher Center operated at expanded capacity overnight to give those without a place to go a warm place to rest their head. A warm bed and escape from the cold is something that many people take for granted, but not Jonathan Krawl, who told Action News Jax he’s been homeless for years now.
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“It’s tough. You got to go underneath a bridge, and then, you know, you run into the fact of whether JSO is gonna come up on you for either vagrancy or sitting in a place where you shouldn’t be sitting. But a lot of people just trying to get away from the cold,” Krawl explained.
That’s exactly the sort of struggle the Sulzbacher Center looks to prevent with its cold weather capacity, an effort that they told Action News Jax on Wednesday is a life saving one.
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“Having this available, when it is cold, you know, is the difference between somebody making it through the night and somebody unfortunately, not making it through the night,” said Kari Messer, the Senior Director of Men’s Campus Operations for the Sulzbacher Center.
However, not everyone was able to make it into the shelters overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, with Messer telling Action News Jax the Sulzbacher reached max capacity even with extra beds. The issue of limited resources is one being seen across the city, Messer told Action News Jax.
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“We had 31 individuals [overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning]. Usually we will allow for 30,” Messer explained. “There definitely is the need for more resources for people not necessarily to have expanded shelter, but to be able to move out of the shelters to have permanent housing so that we’re able to you know, provide the shelter beds for the people who are in crisis.”
For those looking to find shelter, the Sulzbacher starts allowing new overnight residents in just after dinner each night, which runs from 5-5:30 p.m., with an 11 p.m. curfew.
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