NPACH: The National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness

Briefings by Category

NPACH Photos

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The bright blue and yellow cover reads: "Ending Homelessness in Jacksonville: A Blueprint For The Future"

It was an ambitious study that took many months to complete, compiled by a panel of local experts who have spent years dealing with the homeless.

"It's a very good plan. It's a thoughtful plan," said the City's Housing Director, Kerri Stewart.

Among the tenets of the plan: take City dollars to go after matching State and Federal dollars to build up to 800-affordable housing units in the next decade to assist those most at risk for becoming homeless.

But the blueprint for ending homelessness -- which took months of study to complete, will now collect dust at City Hall. There's no local funding to get it going.

"And without a real aggressive plan and ambitious strategies --we weren't going to solve the (homeless)problem," said Wanda Lanier.

Lanier has spent years working to end Jacksonville's homeless problem.

"So with really no political support and no funding, we felt like we couldn't go forward."

Lanier has resigned from her job, citing what she calls the lack of support from City Government to solve the homeless problem.

The money needed to put the plan in motion --which would lead to tens of millions of state and federal dollars is not coming from the Peyton Administration.

"We're (The City) certainly not ignoring our homeless population," counters Stewart.

She says the City is already spending millions to support facilities like the I.M. Sulzbacher Center, the Clara White Mission, the Trinity Mission, and the Salvation Army. Programs with a proven track record of serving the needs of those on the streets.

Stewart says the Blueprint Plan was competing for those sparse City dollars against other homeless support organizations, while competing overall with much larger budgetary concerns.

"Public Safety. Parks. Streets and drainage. Basic public infrastructure," said Stewart.

And while the Mayor's office hopes someday it will be able to fund this program, Lanier reflects on her stepping down, knowing as each day passes, the homeless population continues to grow.

"So it was a difficult decision for me because I really saw this as the answer to dealing with our homeless issue in Jacksonville."

Donate

Give|10

You can be an advocate for real change by making a financial contribution to NPACH.

Consider joining our Give|10 Campaign—just 10 dollars will help support our efforts to make federal policy more inclusive of the needs of families and children as well as assist our ongoing research, education, and technical assistance projects that seek long-term solutions to homelessness.

Why Give|10?

Because contributions from individuals allow us to speak freely and honestly about the direction of homelessness policy. NPACH is unique in its grassroots approach and global view, connecting community-based organizations, schools, and the public to national policy through our advocacy and education initiatives. As such, our style of advocacy does not often match the current structure, interests and priorities of many traditional sources of funding for homelessness and housing groups.

Read more about the Give|10 Campaign

Bookmarking and Syndication