County, partners augment weather outreach plan

Jan 8, 2025 By LEE COUNTY GOVERNMENT 3 min read

Lee County Government is coordinating with its partnering entities to augment its Cold Weather Outreach Plan for the week.

Lee County Emergency Management, the Lee County Department of Human & Veteran Services (HVS), Lee County Transit (LeeTran), Lee County Administration and county partners typically implement plans during timeframes in which the temperature drops below or is slightly above 40 degrees for a period of time.

Initial plans announced earlier this week that started today, Jan. 8, will be augmented due to the temperature and forecasted duration of the cold front.

The plans include:

Today, Jan. 8, and Jan. 9 in the evenings: The Salvation Army will flex its capacity due to wind chill temperatures dropping below 40 degrees. Individuals who are seeking respite from the weather are encouraged to contact The Salvation Army at 239-789-1169 to check availability.

Jan. 9-10: LeeTran will provide warming bus stations from 6 to 10 a.m. at the Cape Coral Transfer Center, at 820 SE 47th Terrace, Cape Coral, and the Edison Mall Transfer Center, at 4300 Solomon Drive, Fort Myers. The mall transfer center is located at the south end of the parking lot.

Jan. 9: HVS and partners will serve as cold-weather respite locations for warming and supplies. Hours will vary by site; some will be mornings only, some will have afternoon hours and some will be available all day. The locations will include:

— Charleston Park United Way Resiliency Hub at the Charleston Park Community Center-Goodwill, at 2541 Charleston Park Drive, Alva

— Dunbar United Way Resiliency Hub at Community Cooperative, at 3429 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers

— East United Way Resiliency Hub at the Children’s Advocacy Center of SWFL, at 4040 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers

— FISH of Sanibel-Captiva United Way Resiliency Hub, at 2304 or 2430-B Periwinkle Way, Sanibel

— Fort Myers Regional Library, at 2450 First St., Fort Myers

— Heights Center, at 15570 Hagie Drive, Fort Myers

— Lion’s Park, at 2550 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers

— North Fort Myers Library, at 2001 N. Tamiami Trail, North Fort Myers

— South Fort Myers United Way Resiliency Hub at Jewish Family Services, at 9701 Commerce Center Court, Fort Myers

— Tice United Way Resiliency Hub at Goodwill Industries, at 5100 Tice St., Fort Myers

Housing, Outreach and Treatment (HOT) teams will staff the sites to help reach out to individuals who are experiencing homelessness and to provide cold-weather supplies, such as socks, jackets, sweatpants, hats, gloves, hand warmers and blankets.

The HVS coordinated entry phone line is available to link individuals to services and resources. The number is 239-533-7996. The HVS Reach app, which is available for free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play, also will be updated. Those experiencing homelessness can sign up to receive push alerts from the app.

Lee County Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management staff is monitoring the cold temperatures and encourages residents to monitor updates from the National Weather Service.

For more information about HVS, visit www.leegov.com/dhs.

To reach LEE COUNTY GOVERNMENT, please email