Gainesville's Cold Night Shelter opens for the first time this season Friday night, with a low near 40 forecast. Adults go to GRACE Marketplace and families with children to the MLK Center.

Gainesville’s Cold Night Shelter program opens for the first time this season on Friday night, Nov. 13. Two sites will take people in from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.

The city announced the first activation in a release Wednesday. It said the first night is “anticipated,” because the program depends on the forecast.

The National Weather Service in Jacksonville forecasts a low around 40 degrees in Gainesville on Friday night, under clear skies. Its forecast for Saturday night is a low around 42.

Where to go

Who Where Hours
Adults on their own GRACE Marketplace at the Empowerment Center, 3055 NE 28th Drive 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Children under 18 and the family with them Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1028 NE 14th St. 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

GRACE Marketplace is a permanent cold night site. The Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center is not a permanent location, the city said. The city itself provides the shelter there.

GRACE lists its address and phone number, 352-792-0800, on its website.

How the program works

The city opens cold night shelters whenever overnight temperatures are forecast to drop below 45 degrees. The shelters stay open until overnight lows rise above 45 again.

The program normally runs from Nov. 1 through March 31, according to the city.

GRACE runs 184 emergency shelter beds across four programs, for men, women, couples and veterans, its emergency shelter page says. On severe cold or storm nights, GRACE said, its gates stay open for people and their pets who are seeking shelter from the weather.

What it means for you

  • If you or someone you know has nowhere warm to sleep Friday night, the two sites above open at 7 p.m.
  • Families with children go to the MLK Center on NE 14th Street, not to GRACE.
  • Whether the shelters open again on a later night depends on the forecast. The city posts each activation on its news page.
  • People who want to help can find GRACE’s wish list and volunteer details on its website.