PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The Charlotte Care Center shelter is now at capacity after an increase of people needing shelter following hurricanes Helene and Milton. Experts there only expect the need for housing for displaced people to grow.
St. Vincent de Paul Cares now runs the Charlotte Care Center, formerly known as the Homeless Coalition on Kenesaw Street in Port Charlotte. Mark Cooper, the organization’s Chief of Staff, told Fox 4 that shelters often see an increase in people needing shelter after natural disasters.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on growing housing needs in Charlotte County following Hurricanes Helene and Milton:
“The shelters do take a large influx of folks that have been affected by the storms,” said Cooper. “Families, individuals, people of all demographics, if they are affected those shelters see a huge uptick in everything from folks just gathering information on what resources are available to people who have lost everything.”
Cooper says the Charlotte Care Center, a 50+ bed shelter, has reached its capacity.
He says the displaced people using their savings for short-term housing will likely run out of funds, and the need for housing will likely increase.
“Folks have a certain amount of emergency funds, and they are burning through their own personal emergency funds,” said Cooper. “Then they will reach out to friends and families and try to find temporary assistance as much as possible but eventually either the funds will run out or the assistance from other folks.”
Despite the anticipated growing need for housing, Cooper said St. Vincent de Paul Cares has experience and success with a rapid rehousing system that can find housing for people seeking assistance.
“The idea is to get folk into shelter, get them off the street, and then get them into housing as quickly as we possibly can and we have an 80 percent success rate of doing that in a quickly timely manner,” said Cooper.
In addition to shelter, the Charlotte Care Center also works to prevent hunger and provide meals. Its drive-up food pantry program serves approximately 5,000 people a month, and its hot meal program serves 3,000-4,000 meals monthly.
To help the Charlotte Care Center’s mission, monetary donations can be made by clicking here. Donations of non-perishable food items, personal hygiene products and infant care items can also be donated at the Charlotte Care Center at 476 Kenesaw St., Port Charlotte.
