FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Four Broward County shelters will be open Tuesday for anyone looking to escape the chilly temperatures.
Broward County officials expect between 200-300 people to stay in the shelters: the Salvation Army, the Broward Outreach Center, the Central Homeless Assistance Center and the North Homeless Assistance Center.
"It's very important, especially in the downtown Fort Lauderdale area, we have a large homeless population and these people aren't used to the climate that we do have," said Alyse Gossman with the Salvation Army. "Obviously, they don't carry around blankets and heavy coats and things like that, so it's important to have a warm place to stay because they're not used to such an environment."
Map: Pick-up and shelter locations
"It's kind of hard," said 25-year-old Michelle Neilly, who finished a two-month voluntary residential drug rehabilitation treatment program in Coral Springs on Wednesday. "I'm thankful for places like this to be able to provide housing, a place to sleep and a hot meal to heat."
Temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s.