Vero Beach organization helps homeless people during heat wave

VERO BEACH, FL – Located on Commerce Street in Vero Beach, The Source is a resource center for the homeless and those in need. It offers everything from food to clothing, counseling services, showers, job training and a safe place to escape the heat.

Currently, more services are being used due to the extreme heat.

Director of Operations Jade Alexander said they had 64 new people in June, which she attributed to the hot temperatures.

“We’re back to supporting people signing up to become Source members, so they can access the benefits, which means getting in to stay out of the sun,” she said. “This year in particular has been much more than what we saw last year.”

Alexander said they have also expanded their hours to allow people to spend more time inside before their Dignity Bus opens at night.

“Our doors are always open, and we make sure we always have programs going on inside for people to participate in, so they don’t have to be outside,” she said. “(We’re) making sure we limit showers to about 15 minutes so that we have more people who can shower because it’s so hot. We have an increase in showers.”

The Dignity Bus is a Greyhound bus that has now been renovated and is filled with beds for people to sleep in overnight. Total two buses can accommodate 36 people.

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“Now it’s hot, we’re always packed every night,” Alexander said. “We have three air conditioning units on each bus so that you have a cool place to sleep during hot months like this. Our members here at The Source actually built this bus. They did the demo and the build and were able to create this beautiful thing for our members to have a place to sleep.” night.”

Alexander said she’s glad they can provide this resource to people who need it.

“Everyone is really grateful because there’s no other choice. If we weren’t here, there wouldn’t be anywhere else, so there’s a lot of gratitude and thanks just for being here,” she said. “With our homeless community, if you never feel wanted anywhere, you kind of lose your self-esteem and think of yourself as other people see you, so when we open our doors and say, ‘Hey, come in.’ “We try to keep people productive. We have Bible studies, bingo, and karaoke. We try to get all of these things so people feel like they’re part of the community, and showing people that they’re part of the community helps them start building their self-esteem again and wanting to provide for themselves again.”