When temperatures drop in Florida, the danger can rise quickly for our neighbors without safe shelter. The recent unprecedented cold spell has reminded us just how powerful community can be. Across Brevard County, nonprofits, healthcare partners, faith organizations, funders, volunteers, and private donors have come together with urgency and compassion to ensure that no one faces freezing nights alone.
At The Sharing Center of Central Brevard, we are proud to stand alongside the Brevard Homeless Coalition (BHC) and fellow shelter partners in this coordinated cold-weather response. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and collaboration of our community, hundreds of individuals each night will have access to warmth, safety, and care when they need it most.
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Community Partners Come Together to Provide Shelter and Warmth During Cold Weather Response
BREVARD COUNTY, FL (January 29, 2026) — As dangerously cold temperatures are expected to approach freezing over the next several days, the Brevard Homeless Coalition (BHC) is grateful for community partners who have stepped forward to support emergency cold night shelter operations, including, Community Foundation for Brevard, Health First, Parrish Healthcare, Space Coast Health Foundation, Steadytown, United Way Space Coast and private donors. Their leadership and generosity are helping ensure shelters can remain open and staffed safely during extreme cold.
BHC’s four local shelter partners — LifePointe Ministries (Titusville), Matthew’s Hope (Cocoa), Central Brevard Sharing Center (Cocoa), and Providence Connects (Melbourne) — have opened cold-night shelters with a combined capacity of more than 200 individuals per night. Support from the community helps defray the additional costs of operating these shelters during extreme weather conditions.
The average personnel cost to staff cold-night shelter operations is approximately $25 per person per night, which equates to roughly $5,000 per night to safely open and staff shelter. Personnel costs — primarily staff overtime and overnight supervision — are the primary and unavoidable expenses during cold-weather events. Shelters also rely heavily on donated food, supplies, and volunteer support.
“With dangerously cold temperatures expected over the coming days, the immediate funding need is approximately $50,000 to support current operations,” said Amber Carroll, Executive Director of the Brevard Homeless Coalition. “This estimate reflects the staffing burden alone, over and above other operational expenses. Based on broader forecasts and the unpredictability of additional cold snaps, our goal is to raise up to $70,000 to support this response and ensure capacity for additional cold nights this season.”
BHC recently carried out its annual Point-in-Time Count, a community-wide effort to better understand homelessness in Brevard County. While the most recent numbers are still being compiled, BHC knows that many individuals in the community are without the clothing, shelter, and resources needed to safely withstand dangerously cold temperatures.
Carroll said that, as of today, BHC has secured more than $30,000 in commitments to support cold night shelter operations.
“This level of community support is deeply encouraging,” Carroll said. “I’m incredibly grateful for how our community is stepping up.” Additional community partners are encouraged to join this effort to help sustain safe shelter operations during cold weather events.
By contributing through the Brevard Homeless Coalition, funds can be centrally stewarded and deployed quickly and transparently to support cold night shelter operations as conditions require. Organizations and individuals looking to assist BHC in this emergency effort are encouraged to contact Amber Carroll at
amber@brevardhomelesscoalition.org or you can give online at
www.brevardhomelesscoalition.org.
