2012-06-21

The following article appeared in the Osceola  News Gazette on June 20, 2012, highlighting the ongoing fight against homelessness in central Florida. Westgate Resorts Foundation was mentioned in the article for its work in establishing the Hospitality Helps program.

Progress made with homeless, county staff says

By Fallan Patterson – Staff Writer

The majority of the homeless people in Osceola County are families with children in the school system, veterans and individuals considered chronically homeless with disabilities and substance abuse issues, county staff stated.

In a presentation given to the Osceola County Commission during Monday’s workshop, Niki Whisler, the county’s homeless liaison, a new position for Osceola County, told commissioners what she and fellow staff have accomplished during the first nine months working on homeless prevention initiatives.

While the public perception of homeless individuals may include people with signs begging for food or money near intersections or those who live in wooded areas around the county, the federal definition is much broader.

The country considers those who meet any of the following criteria to be homeless: those with an income 30 percent below the median income, those without a sufficient support group, those who have moved two or more times in the last month, those “couch surfing” at someone’s home, those living in a motel and those who have been evicted recently.

Osceola County has 2,200 homeless children identified in the Osceola County School District. However, Whisler and other officials consider that number conservative because it does not include children younger than school age and those who parents are afraid to enroll them in school for fear their children will be taken away from them.

“Homelessness is not a crime and parents cannot lose their children because they live in a hotel or elsewhere,” Whisler said.

To help these families, the county is utilizing Community Development Block Grant SHIP Rental Assistance funds to assist with security and utility deposits as well as with rent. In less than four months, 40 families had been helped by the county, Whisler said, adding an additional 35 families are on the waiting list.

Multiple partnerships and grants also are allowing the county, working with families identified by the school system as living in motels along U.S. Highway 192, to help them find affordable, permanent housing. An alliance with the Osceola Landlord Association is aiding the process, Whisler said.

Several grants secured by the county are available to assist homeless veterans, including two Shelter Plus Care grants totaling nearly a million dollars for transitional housing, health care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, case management and job training, among other resources.

Despite the strides made, gaps in services for the homeless population in Osceola County have been identified. The county is lacking affordable housing, livable wage jobs, long-term case management, adequate financial assistance and affordable child care without a waiting list.

Building partnerships with existing organizations and helping to create others to fill the gaps is part of the county’s strategy to help homeless families and individuals.

“No one agency is going to be successful doing this alone,” Beth Knight, deputy county manager, said. “Everyone can bring something to the pot to bring those holistic solutions.”

Future efforts include developing partnerships with the faith-based community and creating a one-stop, drop-in center for individuals seeking assistance to find help without having to call or make appointments at multiple agencies, difficult tasks for someone with no phone or limited transportation options.

“It became real clear we needed one place for them to go,” Whisler said, adding the county is looking for a facility between Hoagland Boulevard and State Road 535.

Another budding partnership is between the county and Westgate Resorts’ Hospitality Helps program, which matches tourism jobs with those in need of work.

Commission Chairman John Quiñones said he was pleased to hear about the job-creation partnership.

“We’re slowly seeing the rebound on tourism and the uptick could help provide jobs in the tourism industry to homeless families,” he said.

Gene Terrico, founder of Give Kids Safe Shelter, an organization that provides funding and connections for agencies and homeless families, said he liked the direction the county was heading.

“We’re making some progress,” he said, adding the county needs to help hoteliers stay open for tourists rather than extended stay for families. “We have a revolving door. As long as we let it stay the way it is, it will perpetuate. You’re setting the environment for business and life in Osceola County.”

Whisler said she would provide another update to the commission on the homeless issue in six months.

 

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