BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2024 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — While part of Palm Beach County worries about whether there’s a Tesla charger anywhere near their route, there’s another part that’s worried about where to sleep. Where to feed kids. How to stay warm or cool. That’s the focus of a report just released by Palm Beach County and shared with BocaNewsNow.com:
On January 25-26, 2024, over 300 staff members and community volunteers participated in the Palm Beach County homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) count. Representatives from the Homeless and Housing Alliance (HHA), Palm Beach County (PBC) Community Services Department (CSD) and many other organizations surveyed individuals and families experiencing homelessness during the 24-hour period.
The PBC Sheriff’s Office and six other municipal law enforcement entities provided assistance to field outreach teams conducting the surveys by escorting them into wooded areas, parking lots, bus stops, abandoned buildings, parks and stationary places, such as food pantries, soup kitchens and libraries. Individuals and families sleeping in their cars and in local shelters were also included in the count.
During this 24-hour period, the surveyors identified 2,126 individuals and families as homeless. While there was a slight decrease in veteran and family homelessness, the overall count has increased by 14.6%. The number of homeless individuals counted in 2023 was 1,855.
Since 2020, the PBC Community Services Department and Homeless and Housing Alliance spent more than $120 million on homeless and homeless prevention services. CSD, HHA and other system partners have also worked collaboratively on initiatives to:
increase the amount of local resources allocated from the federal government
enhance collaboration with local housing authorities
enhance the coordinated entry system to quickly identify and serve homeless individuals
expand the Rapid Rehousing Program and landlord recruitment initiative
expand temporary shelter and hotel capacity
On January 29, 2024, the new Housing Resource Center, located in the Lake Worth Beach area, opened its doors to those in need. This 66-bed facility provides interim shelter for individuals and families as they transition into more permanent housing opportunities. The county is also working with the West Palm Beach Housing Authority to build 17 cottage homes that will be used as transitional housing for homeless families.
“Every year we come together with our shared belief and commitment to effectively serve residents experiencing homelessness and work towards a common goal of ensuring that homelessness in Palm Beach County is rare, brief and nonrecurring,” said PBC Community Services Department Human Services and Community Action Director Wendy Tippett. “We know that our work is not over, which is why we use the PIT count numbers to make data-driven decisions on how to provide essential services to the areas most in need.”
Special thanks to PBC Administration and all of the local partner organizations and college students who assisted in this year’s Point-In-Time count and who continue to help those in need on a daily basis. These partners include Adopt-a-Family, AVDA, Boca Helping Hands Food Center, Boynton Beach Faith-Based CDC Inc., ChildNet, Children’s Home Society of Florida (Greater Palm Beach), City of Boca Police Services Department, City of Boynton Beach Police Department, City of Delray Beach Police Department, City of West Palm Police Department, COMPASS Inc., CROS Ministries, Delray Beach Initiative to End Homelessness, El Sol (Jupiter’s Neighborhood Resource Center), Families First of Palm Beach County, Gulfstream Goodwill, Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County, Interfaith Committee for Social Services, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Lighthouse Café Ministries of the Glades, Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, PBC Library System, PBC Parks & Recreation Department, PBC Sheriff’s Office (districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14), PBC Youth Services Department, Riviera Beach Integrated Care, Riviera Beach Police Department, Salvation Army, School District of Palm Beach County, Second Start Inc., Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network, St. Ann Place Outreach Center, St. George’s Center Inc., The Lords Place, Town of Jupiter Police Department, United Way of Palm Beach County, Veterans Affairs Administration, Vickers House, Vita Nova Inc. and the YWCA.
So 120 million spent over the last 4 years 2020 to 2023 roughly 2,000 homeless if you just gave them that money in a check that would be $15,000 per individual plus 12,000 from SSI would be 27,000 a year that works out to a little over $13 an hour with no taxes or 2,100 a month roughly again that’s per person it wouldn’t be much admin all you have to do is run checks and mail them. And the way I would do it was have them in the form of vouchers that landlords would take that should solve your problem there’s a lot more to it but that’s the outline and this other benefits and resources that I’m not even mentioning
There but for the grace of good fortune…
Nobody goes through life wishing that they were homeless, so we need to ignore the right wing pundits going to privilege who claim that all it takes is a little hard work for them to climb out of despair.
It takes the willingness to want to improve your condition and the sensibility to outreach to someone who can help. Perhaps the cities could print a list of helping resources and distribute them to the homeless.
Is it conceivable that some homeless people actually prefer to live that way?
Perhaps a community could have a bus or food truck parole the area of the homeless with free snacks and water and donated blankets and clothing.
Homelessness was not created by right wing pundits. Left wingers are in charge of most cities with the most homeless people. Get off your ass and help them instead of making this a political issue.
If you want to bring contemporary politics into a societal problem that has existed since the dawn of civilization, the same goes with the left-wing academics going to privilege; who claim that the lack of “affordable” housing, healthcare, and education causes people with mental illness or are experiencing economic hardship from their policies, to all go homeless… and of course, when they say “affordable,” it means “free” and paid for by everyone else’s increasingly worthless money, as long as they keep voting for their candidates and aren’t in their neighborhoods.
They should do the count again in August