Fort Lauderdale Volunteers Shield Homeless from Freezing Cold

When freezing temperatures threatened South Florida this weekend, Sean Cononie and his team at The Homeless Voice knew exactly what to do. They loaded up an ambulance with thermal blankets, socks, food, and cold-weather gear, then headed straight to downtown Fort Lauderdale's bus station where people living on the streets needed help most.

Cononie, who has led the longtime advocacy group for decades, personally showed each person how to use the thermal blankets. "Wrap them around your body. It keeps the heat in you," he told one man, demonstrating the technique that could save lives during nights when temperatures drop to or below freezing.

The group's efforts weren't limited to Fort Lauderdale. Similar volunteer teams fanned out across Miami, distributing supplies to anyone without shelter as the dangerous cold snap moved in.

For Cononie, the work goes beyond just handing out blankets. He urged people on the streets to look out for each other through the coldest hours. "It's important for them to stay warm, but most importantly, it's important for their friends to make sure in the middle of the night, if they see someone without a blanket, to put a blanket on for them," he said.

Volunteer Sally Schwartz spent her Saturday evening helping strangers stay warm, driven by something deeper than duty. The work hits especially close to home during extreme weather like this.

"It's so easy to be selfish and so easy to be greedy nowadays," Schwartz said. "You have to learn to just love people, because that's what we're going to be judged on at the very end."

The Ripple Effect

The Homeless Voice has been advocating for unhoused people for decades, specializing in outreach during extreme weather when vulnerability peaks. Their model of mobilizing quickly with practical supplies shows how organized compassion can reach people in crisis when it matters most.

The volunteers' efforts created a ripple of care through South Florida communities, reminding neighbors to watch out for the most vulnerable among them. By equipping people not just with blankets but with knowledge about how to help each other, they're building a network of protection that extends far beyond what any single organization could provide.

When the coldest nights arrive, warmth comes from more than thermal blankets.