PALATKA, Fla. — Palatka’s only overnight shelter for people experiencing homelessness shut down last fall, leaving dozens without a place to sleep. Months later, questions remain about when a new shelter might open and where people without housing are supposed to go in the meantime.
Since the shelter’s closure in November, there has been no alternative overnight facility available in the area. The Putnam County Caring Coalition, the nonprofit that operated the shelter, said it is actively searching for a new location but has faced significant challenges.
According to the coalition’s executive director, Georgia Mitchell, reopening an overnight shelter would require substantial time and money.
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“It would cost us, well over 50 to 100,000, and would take at least 12 months.”
For more than 20 years, the Putnam County Caring Coalition has provided emergency shelter services in Palatka, expanding its efforts as the community’s needs increased.
We started out providing a cold-weather shelter in conjunction with the 1st Presbyterian Church in Palatka in 2003, and that was just an emergency space. And then, as we saw the need for something more consistent. We expanded in 2025.”
That expansion ended abruptly last November when the City of Palatka determined the church-based shelter could no longer operate due to code violations.
“We received notice from the city that we weren’t able to do that because of code restrictions and the fire marshal told us that there were issues with fire codes that prohibited us doing that.”
The closure comes at a particularly difficult time, as a new Florida law now prohibits people from sleeping on sidewalks and other public spaces. City leaders previously acknowledged that shutting down the shelter would create a significant gap in services, but months later, it remains unclear how many people were displaced or where they sought shelter afterward.
Mitchell says while the community has shown support, securing a suitable property has proven difficult.
“We have a very generous community. There are a lot of people that see the need and want to step forward. We’ve had several people approach us about a property. We haven’t seen that come to fruition yet.”
Advocates warn that the longer the shelter remains closed, the more severe the impact will be on people experiencing homelessness in Putnam County.
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