VALRICO, Fla. — When the temperature dips below 40 degrees overnight in Hillsborough County, Pastor Dr. Reba Haley converts her church sanctuary into a shelter.
Mission of Hope in Valrico serves as one of a handful of volunteer-run cold weather shelters in the county. Haley has been working as a partner with Hillsborough County since 2019, to provide a warm place for people who are homeless or have inadequate heat to stay.
For four nights in a row this week temperatures dipped below the threshold, activating the county’s cold weather shelter program. So each night, Haley opened her doors from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m…