FORT MYERS, Fla. — Walking to a job interview in donated clothes, it’s hard for Shantasia Jacob to find her smile.

When Jacob left her home hours before Hurricane Ian hit, she only brought a bag of clothes and few personal items with her. She lost her home in the storm and all of her belongings. In the days following the hurricane, she found herself sleeping in the shelter at Hertz Arena and without a job.

“Like I lost myself. Honestly, I did,” she said. “I have like one duffel bag full of clothes that I re-wear like everyday.”

Jacob was laid off from her job near downtown Fort Myers with the business badly damaged. Without a car or a place to call home, she started looking for jobs within walking distance of the shelter. She decided to interview at a Halloween shop for a job that doesn’t pay close to what she used to make.

“I honestly don’t even want the job, but I need something to get by you know?” she said.

She’s been joined at the shelter by her cousin Ed’Kezia McCarter.

McCarter kept her job working overnights at a gas station but says she pays almost as much for transportation as she makes each night.

The two cousins have struggled to find work-appropriate clothes and items that fit correctly in the arena’s donation piles. 

“These aren’t my clothes. I don’t dress like this,” McCarter said pointing to her blue shirt. “But I was thankful for getting it and I didn’t have to be in the same outfit for days.”

Jacob and McCarter have spent nearly three weeks at the Hertz Arena shelter. Each night, the shelter houses approximately 350 people. They say they’re grateful for hot meals, but sleeping on the covered hockey arena ice with hundreds of other people is taking its toll.

People are sick, coughing and running out of patience.

“It’s horrible. Not going to lie to you. It’s horrible,” McCarter said.

The Hertz Arena shelter is closing this week and residents who can’t find other arrangements will be provided transportation to a new shelter located inside of a former Publix store on North Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers.

The new shelter will be run by a state contractor and assisted by the Red Cross and community partners.

“We do everything we can to avoid having to relocate shelters, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Emergency shelters aren’t typically intended to stay open for long periods of time. Red Cross workers are connecting with shelter residents to help them plan and make housing arrangements in partnership with other community organizations,” said Rachel Nelson, a spokesperson for Red Cross in a statement.

The cousins are hoping to find other arrangements before then but say it’s not looking good. 

“You gotta be positive when you’re going through a situation like this because if you’re negative, and you’re down about the situation all the time," McCarter said. "You’re never gonna get nowhere in life." ​