While some Gainesville residents break out winter coats and pour hot cocoa to deal with recent cold weather, others are struggling to find warm clothes and shelter.
Record low temperatures in Gainesville this week have driven different organizations that help the homeless to put in extra effort to get people in need through chilly times.
Following recent economic instability, there are more homeless people on the streets of Alachua County than ever before, said Jon DeCarmine, executive director of the Gainesville/Alachua County Office on Homelessness.
DeCarmine said the office has been running in crisis mode and handed out almost 600 blankets last week to help the homeless and people who cannot afford to run a heating system in their homes.
The coalition sent out an announcement Wednesday asking for more blankets or funds to purchase them.
Tuesday's low of 32 degrees was Gainesville's lowest temperature on record for the month of October, said Jason Deese, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville.
The previous record was set at 33 degrees in October 2005, Deese said.
Deese said he doesn't expect the lows to stick around much longer. Low temperatures should increase to the upper 40s by Friday and upper 50s by Saturday.
The recent rush of cold weather cannot predict the rest of the season's temperature, he said.
"Just because we have cold temperature now doesn't necessarily mean it's going to continue into the wintertime," Deese said.
For now, organizations are finding ways to help those in need to get through the cold snap.
The Gainesville Catholic Worker House, a local organization that works with people in need, has been allowing people to sleep on the floor inside to get out of the cold, said John Zokovitch, co-founder of the center.
"Cold weather is one of the big dangers for people who are homeless," Zokovitch said. "People are scrambling for a place to stay."
Although the center is a small operation, he said eight people showed up to spend the night Tuesday, and many more have come in during the day to escape the cold.
"Whenever the weather is particularly nasty, we feel it's our responsibility to open our home for people who have no other place to go," he said.
