By Faith Montalvo
TAMPA, Fla.– As emergency shelters opened during Hurricane Milton, not everyone experiencing homelessness in Tampa knew about the storm, had access to shelter, or even felt that they could be safe inside of one. This resulted in some homeless people having to ride out the storm under bridges and in parking garages.
Approximately 31,462 people are experiencing homelessness in Florida, according to Florida’s Council on Homelessness. Over half of these people are unsheltered.
There are also about 5,422 homeless people throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Lee, and Sarasota counties, where Hurricane Milton hit the hardest.
Walter Avent, a homeless person in Downtown Tampa, stayed under a bridge on North Nebraska Avenue as Hurricane Milton made landfall.
“It was the most terrible thing I went through in my life,” Avent said, crying as he spoke. “I thank God that I got through it.”
Avent, 53, said he was unaware of any news of the hurricane until he saw that stores were closed on Oct. 9 — the same day that Hurricane Milton arrived. He saw signs on buildings that said they were closed due to the storm, and the buses were not running.
Avent did not have a phone or access to the news. Even as police drove by and checked on him, he said he didn’t realize how intense the hurricane would be that night.
As the wind picked up around 8 p.m., Avent said he thought he was going to die.
“During this time, I’m on my hands and knees, crying and praying,” he said.
Throughout the night, he witnessed debris sliding along the road and wirelines snapping. He said he was afraid of the broken wirelines electrocuting him.
“If it hadn’t been for that bridge, I probably would’ve been dead today,” said Avent.
Mikka Patterson, a volunteer at a soup kitchen that provides one daily meal to those in need, said that the hurricane disrupted some homeless people’s daily routines.
She said the Faith Cafe, a consistent food source serving between 70 to 90 meals daily, was closed for three days because of the hurricane.
“That really put a big impact on them because we were their source of food,” Patterson, 43, said. “We were their source of nourishment.”
While Patterson said that many people she serves were able to take buses to shelters, others decided to weather the storm.
Patterson said that people experiencing homelessness find shelters to be dangerous, and it may even be triggering for those recovering from substance abuse if they run into the wrong people.
“Something like a hurricane can take the whole sobriety away just from going to a shelter,” She said. “So they do get stubborn, and they do decide to shelter in a parking lot, or in a park or anywhere they can feel that they’re a little bit covered up.”
Thomas Amato, a 68-year-old man experiencing homelessness in Downtown Tampa, said he and his friend trudged through knee-high water on West Platt Street and Kennedy Boulevard. They came to the Waterview Parking Garage in Midtown Tampa and slept on the cement ground for the night.
“I was so wet and shivering,” Amato said, “We were soaked to the skin.”
Amato said all his belongings were soaked from the storm, and it wasn’t until the next day that he could dry his clothes in the sun.
The Waterview Parking Garage, where Amato and his friend slept during Hurricane Milton. Photo courtesy of Faith Montalvo.
Meanwhile, Luis Mirabel, 45, stayed in a crowded shelter. He said a security guard from the bus terminal told him that he could go to Middleton High School during the hurricane. When it opened as a shelter, he went with all his belongings.
“I was just waiting to see what was gonna be the outcome of everything, and trying to make the best of it,” Mirabel said.
Mirabel said that he is always worried about not receiving assistance, including the shelter, from the hurricane because it is often limited.
“We don’t know what to expect from the city to know what kind of help they’ll offer for us homeless people,” he said.
Scott Ferguson, a 60-year-old man experiencing homelessness, said he received text alerts from the county on his phone about the hurricane.
He said the shelters he was being directed to were four and a half hours away, and they only accepted women and children. He stayed near Hyde Park during the hurricane and watched as houses flooded on Magnolia Avenue.
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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Faith Montalvo.