WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — As the cold spell in Central Florida continues, some nonprofits like Matthew’s Hope, which serves the homeless populations in Orange and Brevard counties, have not had to be open this long in 15 years.

Shelley Bradford, President of Matthew’s Hope, knew they’d need to have many cots to help get the homeless out of the cold.

“My heart sinks because I know how cold I am and I have shelter and so I think, okay, my toes are cold, my hands are cold, I can’t imagine for someone who doesn’t have shelter how that feels,” said Bradford.

They stayed open Tuesday night as a cold shelter and plan to do so through Friday.

“The first thing I thought was, okay, we’ve got to do this, but what is going to be the financial burden of this?” said Bradford.

Bradford explained they adjusted staff schedules and are paying them around the clock to transform their dining area into the shelter.

They had 32 people stay with them in Winter Garden and 39 in their Brevard County shelter. She expected even more for Wednesday night.

Bradford shared that while it’s a necessary service, it’s causing stain on their already tight budget.

“There’s going to, you know, be extra food,” said Bradford. “We’re going to have the power on more, the what we’re going to have more running water, we’re going to wash more clothes and things like that.”

Despite that, she is doing her best to make sure they have enough blankets and jackets to give out to keep everyone warm, but she knows demand will be hard to keep up with.

“So this huge stack of blankets most likely will be gone tonight, if not tonight, tomorrow, for sure. And knowing that we have another cold snap coming next week, we’re definitely always in need of blankets,” said Bradford.

She is anticipating that they’ll have the shelter open next week as well and worries about what the added cost will mean for the future of their organization.

“You know we just had our huge matching fund at the end of the year, which was great, but now that I see how quickly it’s going to it’s going to diminish with these next two weeks, it makes me a little nervous just to know that we on a typical day we spend anywhere from $35,000 to $41,000.” said Bradford. “And now that we’re going to be open several days in a row instead of two days a week, it’s going to be tough on our budget for sure. “

To make it work, she’s hoping people want to donate anything they can to help their community make it through the winter.

Donations can be dropped by Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to Noon or by appointment at:

Matthew’s Hope

611 Business Park Blvd. #101

Winter Garden, Florida 34787

Contact: (407) 905-9500

They are currently accepting donations of the following:

• Sheets (Prefer Twin) 
• Pillows with Cases
• Warm Lightweight Clothing 
• Running/Mesh Style Shoes 
• Cold Weather Socks 
• Boxer Briefs 
• Hand Warmers 
• Coffee (Regular & Decaf) 
• Juices (Orange and Apple)
• Milk
• Cereal
• Breakfast Muffins
• Healthy Snacks
• Sweet Ice Tea Mix 
• Lemonade Mix
• Ensure (Nutrition Shakes)
• Bottled Water 
• Paper Plates, Bowls & Coffee Cups
• Plastic Forks & Spoons
• Plastic Drink Cups (Small)
• Paper Towels
• Laundry Detergent
• Lysol Spray
• Steamer Pans 13x9